World Marathon Record Holder Kiptum Dies In Car Crash

By: Gyang Dakwo

Kenya’s marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum and his coach were killed in a traffic accident in the Rift Valley on Sunday, cutting short the promising career of the only man to have run the endurance classic in less than two hours and one minute.

The 24-year-old set the world record, opens new tab at the Chicago Marathon in October with a time of two hours and 35 seconds to surpass the mark of 2:01:09 run by compatriot Eliud Kipchoge in Berlin in 2022.

Kiptum, who clocked three of the seven fastest marathon times in history, had been hoping to become the first man to run the marathon in under two hours in race conditions at Rotterdam in April as well as make his Olympic debut in Paris in July.

“We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the devastating loss of Kelvin Kiptum and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana,” World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said in a statement.

According to the police report, Kiptum was driving his Rwandan coach and a woman in a car near the Rift Valley village where he was born when the accident occurred.
The athlete lost control of the vehicle and veered off the road into a ditch, travelling for about 60 metres along it before crashing into a large tree.

Kiptum was one of the most exciting new prospects to emerge in road running in recent years. He grabbed headlines when he made his marathon debut in December 2022, clocking 2:01:53 to win in Valencia. Less than a year later, in just his third marathon, he smashed the world record with 2:00:35 to win in Chicago.

That performance, along with his victory earlier in the year at the London Marathon in a course record of 2:01:25, led him to be named 2023 World Athlete of the Year for men’s out-of-stadia events.