(Nairobi) Kenyan athlete Kelvin Kiptum, marathon world record holder, and his coach Gervais Hakizimana died in a car accident in Kenya, we learned late Sunday evening from a police source.
Kiptum, who set the world’s best performance (2 hours, minutes and 35 seconds) during the Chicago marathon last October, was 24 years old. He was in the preparation phase for the Paris Olympic Games.
“The accident happened around 11 p.m. (3 p.m. Eastern time),” said Elgeyo Marakwet County (western Kenya) police commander Peter Mulinge, adding that a third occupant of the vehicle had been injured and hospitalized.
Kiptum, who was one of the revelations of world athletics, made his debut in the marathon in December 2022, winning in Valencia in an already spectacular time (2 hours 01 minutes 53).
Chicago, where he set the world’s best, was only his third marathon.
He had not given a bib since, but planned to return to competition in April in Rotterdam with the idea of breaking the two-hour mark.
Kiptum was born in the Eldoret region, in the heart of the Rift Valley, the temple of long-distance runners.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the death of Kelvin Kiptum and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana,” commented Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics, the international athletics federation, saluting in a press release “an extraordinary athlete who leaves an extraordinary legacy.”
“We will miss him,” he concludes.