February 12, 2024, 10:48 am
On Sunday night, the athletics world lost one of its brightest stars. Marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum died in a tragic traffic accident. He was only 24 years old.
In the late evening, Kelvin Kiptum, together with his Rwandan coach Gervais Hakizimana and another woman, set off from Eldoret to Kaptagat. According to the police, it was Kiptum who was driving when he lost control of his Toyota Premio and crashed into a tree. Kiptum and Hakizimana succumbed to the effects of the traffic accident. A female passenger suffered serious injuries. Kelvin was only 24 years old and left behind his wife Asenah and two children.
The president of World Athletics, Sebastian Coe, also expressed his sincere condolences immediately following the unfortunate event. “We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the devastating loss of Kelvin Kiptum and his coach Gervais Hakizimana. Only last week we officially ratified his world record from the Chicago Marathon. He was an incredible athlete who left an indelible legacy and will be sorely missed.”
Kelvin Kiptum was born and raised in Chepsamo township located approximately thirty kilometers from Eldoret. He started running at the age of thirteen and very soon ran his first half marathon. Just five years later in 2018, he won his first race. He made his international debut in 2019 and immediately presented himself with a fifth place at the half marathon in Lisbon in a time of 59:53.
Then he really started to excel with the transition to the marathon. At the end of 2022, he made his debut at this distance in Valencia and won in what was then the third fastest time in history, 2:01:53. In the spring of 2023, he won the London marathon in 2:01:25, and six months later he became the world record holder in Chicago, when he moved Eliud Kipchoge’s historical record by 34 seconds to 2:00:35. In the spring of this year, he was supposed to present himself at the marathon in Rotterdam, where he wanted to attack the two-hour mark.
Kiptum’s tragic accident is unfortunately not an isolated case. In 2018, world 400m hurdles champion Nicholas Bett died on the road between Nairobi and Eldoret. This happened just three years following he won a sensational gold at the World Championships in Beijing 2015. He was 28 years old. Another Kenyan world champion, Julius Yego, also had a serious traffic accident on the same route. Fortunately, the javelin champion escaped with only minor injuries.
