THE men’s marathon world record holder, Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum, 24, has died in a road accident in his home country.
He was killed alongside his coach, Rwanda’s Gervais Hakizimana, in a car on a road in western Kenya on Sunday.
Kiptum made a breakthrough in 2023 as a rival to compatriot Eliud Kipchoge – one of the greatest marathon runners.
Kiptum bettered Kipchoge’s record, clocking the 26.2 miles (42km) in two hours and 35 seconds in Chicago last October.
The two athletes had been named in Kenya’s provisional marathon team for the Paris Olympics later this year.
Kipchoge said on X that the man who broke his record was a rising star who had “a whole life” ahead of him to achieve “incredible greatness”, offering condolences to his family.
Also paying tribute, Kenya’s President William Ruto described Kiptum as an extraordinary sportsman who had left a mark on the world.
“Kiptum was my only child, now he’s left me,” he told Kenya’s Citizen TV. “I don’t know what to say, I see his children will be looking to me and my child is gone… Now, who will help us raise his kids?”
The road accident happened at about 23:00 local time (20:00 GMT) on Sunday.
Giving details of the crash, police said Kiptum was driving and had “lost control [of the vehicle] and veered off-road entering into a ditch on his left side”.
“He drove in the ditch for about 60 metres before hitting a big tree,” a police statement said.
Kiptum and Hakizimana died at the site of a collision. A third person – a young woman – was seriously injured and taken to hospital for treatment.
