According to the Daily Nation, Kiptum was traveling between Eldoret and Kaptagat towns late on Sunday night with his trainer Gervais Hakizimana from Rwanda and another woman in his Toyota Premio.
According to the local police, Kiptum was driving the car, lost control and crashed into a large tree. Hakizimana, a former successful steelworker, also did not survive the tragic accident, the passenger suffered serious injuries.
Kiptum ran his first half-marathon at the age of thirteen, the athletics world drew considerable attention to himself during the marathon in Valencia the year before last with the fastest debut in history. Last year he already recorded the second best time in history in London and then in Chicago he improved the all-time record of his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge by 34 seconds.
Kipchoge has already run 42,195 meters in under two hours, but in an exhibition race that did not meet the athletic rules, for example, the conductors changed. For this year, Kiptum was planning to attack this border in a regular marathon, and he also planned the Olympics in Paris.
Kiptum had two children with his wife Asenah. The head of world athletics and legendary miler Sebastian Coe has already expressed his condolences to the loved ones. “Just this week in Chicago I ratified his world record. He was an exceptional athlete with an exceptional legacy, he will be greatly missed,” he wrote on the X network.