Sport is mourning after Kelvin Kiptum, the men’s marathon world record holder, died in a road accident in Kenya late on Sunday night.
Kiptum and his Rwandese coach Garvais Hakizimana died in a collision in the Kaptagat area, the Abbott World Marathon Majors and Elgeyo Marakwet police confirmed.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the devastating loss of Kelvin Kiptum and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana,” World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said in a statement posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Sunday. “On behalf of all World Athletics, we send our deepest condolences to their families, friends, teammates and the Kenyan nation.”
Coe continued: “It was only earlier this week in Chicago, the place where Kelvin set his extraordinary marathon World Record, that I was able to officially ratify his historic time.”
“An incredible athlete leaving an incredible legacy, we will miss him dearly,” he concluded.
According to an ESPN report, Kiptum and Hakizimana were killed in the crash that happened between the towns of Eldoret and Kaptagat at 11 p.m. local time. The high-altitude region is a popular training base for long-distance runners. An unidentified woman who was also in the car during the crash was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, Kenyan media reported.
Elgeyo Marakwet County Police Commander Peter Mulinge told CNN that Kiptum was driving the vehicle, a Toyota Premio, at the time of the accident, and both he and Hakizimana died at the scene.
“He lost control, veered off the road, entered into a ditch 60 meters away and hit a big tree,” Mulinge said.
Kiptum rose to fame when he became the first man to run the Chicago Marathon in under 2 hours and 1 minute. He set the record with a time of 2:00.35 in October 2023. Kiptum also won the London Marathon in April 2023.
A rising star in long-distance running, he was widely considered to be the successor to fellow Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, who set the previous marathon record of 2:01:09 at the 2022 Berlin Marathon.
Kelvin Kiptum death – Tributes and reaction
World Athletics president Seb Coe led the tributes to Kiptum on Sunday night, saying he was ‘an incredible athlete leaving an incredible legacy’.
He wrote on X: ‘We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the devastating loss of Kelvin Kiptum and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana.
‘On behalf of all World Athletics we send our deepest condolences to their families, friends, teammates and the Kenyan nation.
‘It was only earlier this week in Chicago, the place where Kelvin set his extraordinary marathon world record, that I was able to officially ratify his historic time.
‘An incredible athlete leaving an incredible legacy, we will miss him dearly.’
Raila Odinga, Kenya’s prime minister from 2008 to 2013, wrote on X: ‘Devastating news as we mourn the loss of a remarkable individual, Kelvin Kiptum, World Record holder and Kenyan athletics icon. Together with his coach, they tragically passed on in an accident tonight.
When is Kelvin Kiptum funeral service?
As of now, the funeral date of the late Kelvin Kiptum has not been disclosed by his family.
Having said that, we are still following up on his death, we will update you as soon as we get important information about Kelvin Kiptum funeral service.
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