After the 24-year-old Kenyan running sensation Kelvin Kiptum lost his life in an automobile accident on Monday, tributes began to come in for the world record holder in marathon running.
Around 11:00 p.m. (2000 GMT) on Sunday, the favorite for the Paris 2024 Olympics was traveling from Kaptagat to Eldoret in western Kenya’s Rift Valley when his car veered off the road and struck a tree.
According to authorities, a woman passenger suffered critical injuries while Kiptum, a father of two, and his Rwandan coach Gervais Hakizimana perished.
“He lost control and went off the road, swerving to the left and into a ditch. The accident happened in Elgeyo Marakwet County, according to an official police report. “He drove in the ditch for about 60 meters before hitting a big tree,” the report stated.
It stated that while passenger Sharon Chepkurui Kosgei was taken to the hospital with critical injuries, Kiptum and Hakizimana passed away immediately.
Pictures of the damaged wreckage appeared in Kenyan media, with the roof and doors nearly torn off, the windscreen broken.
After breaking the previous record of fellow Kenyan star Eliud Kipchoge by 34 seconds in October, Kiptum burst into the marathon scene with a time of 2:00:35 in Chicago.
At the time, he was only 23 and taking part in his third marathon.
In addition, Kiptum triumphed in his two subsequent attempts, one in London the following year and the other in Valencia in 2022.
Kipchoge declared that the loss of the “rising star” who broke his record “deeply saddened” him.
In a statement on X, Kipchoge described himself as “an athlete who had a whole life ahead of him to achieve incredible greatness.”
Kiptum was called “one of the world’s finest sportsmen who broke barriers to secure a marathon record” by Kenyan President William Ruto.
“An extraordinary sportsman has left an extraordinary mark in the globe,” he stated on X.
Kiptum, who was only ten years old when he started herding goats, had declared that he would try to break the record of being the first man to finish an official marathon in under two hours in April.
World Athletics lamented the passing of “one of the most exciting new prospects to emerge in road running in recent years” and declared that his debut was the quickest in history.
Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics, stated that he was in Chicago just last week to formally confirm Kiptum’s historic moment.
Coe released a statement saying, “An incredible athlete leaving an incredible legacy, we will miss him dearly.”
World record-holder Faith Kipyegon, who runs the 1500 and 5,000 meters, posted a heartfelt homage on X consisting of three weeping emojis and a Kenyan flag.
It was expected that Kiptum and Kipchoge will run together at the Paris Olympics this summer for the first time.
Paul Tergat, the president of Kenya’s National Olympic Committee, stated on X, “We mourn the untimely departure of a promising talent, especially with the Olympics just days away.”
“Kelvin’s recent ratified record in Chicago showcased his potential for a bright future, representing the next generation of Olympic greatness.”
David Rudisha, a Kenyan who won the 800 meters twice at the Olympics, called his passing a “huge loss”.
Kiptum was born and raised in Chepkorio, a village in the Rift Valley that serves as the center of Kenyan distance running and is also where he died.
He was only a teenager ten years ago when he started herding sheep and goats. After that, he started to follow Hakizimana and other runners as they trained in the fabled high-altitude area.
2019 saw Kiptum complete two half-marathons in a span of two weeks, clocking times of 60:48 in Copenhagen and 59:53 in Belfort, France. He started training with Hakizimana, who remained in Kenya at the time of the Covid-19 outbreak.
The latest in a string of tragedies to befall Kenya’s young athletes is the passing of Kiptum.
Great Kenyan marathon runner Samuel Wanjiru passed away in 2011 at the same age that he did in Beijing in 2008.
A pathologist stated that Wanjiru died as a result of being struck in the head by a blunt item.
Agnes Tirop, a renowned distance runner, was discovered fatally murdered at the age of 25 in her Iten, near Eldoret, home in 2021.
In November of last year, her husband Ibrahim Rotich went on trial for her murder.
Athlete Benjamin Kiplagat, a Ugandan born in Kenya, was discovered dead in his automobile in Eldoret at the end of December from a neck knife wound. There are two men accused of killing him.
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