- Written by Celestine Karoney
- BBC Sport Nairobi, Africa
image source, Getty Images
Kelvin Kiptum broke Eliud Kipchoge’s world record at the Chicago Games last October.
Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum, 24, the world record holder for the men’s marathon, has died in a traffic accident in his home country.
He died in a car with Rwanda coach Gervais Hakizimana on a road in western Kenya.
Police said a third person was taken to hospital after the accident at around 23:00 local time (20:00 Japan time), AFP news agency reported.
Kiptum made an incredible breakthrough in 2023 as a rival to compatriot Eliud Kipchoge, later breaking Kipchoge’s record.
Kiptum bested Kipchoge in Chicago last October, covering 26.1 miles (42km) in 2 hours and 35 seconds.
Police gave details of the accident, saying that Kiptum was the driver and that the car “lost control and overturned, killing both people on the spot.”
The spokesperson added that a third passenger, a woman, was injured and “was rushed to hospital”, AFP reported.
Just last week, his team announced that they would attempt to complete the Rotterdam Marathon in less than two hours, a feat that has never been achieved in regular competition.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe paid tribute to the young man, calling him “a great athlete with an incredible legacy and we will all miss him tremendously.”
The father-of-two’s rise to fame was rapid, having just run his first full marathon in 2022.
Four years ago, he competed in his first major event running in borrowed shoes because he couldn’t afford his own shoes.
He was one of a new wave of Kenyan athletes to start their careers on the road, breaking with the tradition of athletes starting on the track before moving on to long-distance events.
Mr Kiptum told the BBC last year that his unusual choice was simply dictated by a lack of resources.
“I didn’t have the transportation money to go to track sessions,” he explained.
His coach, Hakijimana, 36, is a former Rwandan runner. Last year, he spent months helping Kiptam achieve his world record.
Their relationship as coach and athlete began in 2018, but they first met when the world record holder was younger.
“I knew him when he was a little boy, herding barefoot,” Hakijimana recalled last year. “It was in 2009 and I was training near his father’s farm and he came to kick my heel and I was pushing him away.
“Now I am grateful for his accomplishments.”