NAIROBI, Kenya —Marathon world record-holder Kelvin Kiptum, who was set to be a superstar of long-distance running, was killed along with his coach in a car crash in Kenya late Sunday.
Kiptum was 24 and had the world record he set last year at the Chicago Marathon ratified by international track federation World Athletics just last week.
Kiptum, who was Kenyan, and his Rwandan coach Gervais Hakizimana were killed in the crash at around 11 p.m. Another Kenyan athlete, Milcah Chemos, confirmed their deaths to The Associated Press. She was at the hospital mortuary where the bodies were taken and had seen Kiptum’s body, she said.
Kiptum was the first man to run the marathon in under 2 hours, 1 minute. He set the new world record of 2:00:35 at the Chicago Marathon in October, beating the mark of fellow Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge by 34 seconds.
The crash happened on a road between the towns of Eldoret and Kaptagat in western Kenya, Chemos said, in the heart of the high-altitude region that’s renowned as a training base for distance runners.
She said she went to the hospital with other athletes and members of Kiptum’s family after hearing the news. The family members were there to identify Kiptum’s body.
The Kenyan track federation said it was deeply saddened to announce the deaths of Kiptum and Hakizimana.
Kenyan media reported that only one car was involved in the crash and a third person, a woman, was also in the vehicle and was taken to the same hospital with serious injuries.
Tribune October photos of the month
Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune Kelvin Kiptum celebrates his Chicago Marathon world record victory, 2:00:35, with Bank of America Chicago Marathon Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski in Chicago’s Grant Park on Oct. 8, 2023.
His record-setting mark in Chicago was the first time the men’s world record for fastest marathon fell at that race since 1999. With perfect weather conditions, an ultra-in-form athlete, a fast course and an encouraging crowd, the Oct. 8 marathon seemed a perfect setup to break new barriers, race experts told the Tribune at the time.
Social media video showed Kiptum receiving a hero’s welcome in Kenya after his race in Chicago. The throngs of people greeting him at the airport hoisted him onto their shoulders and bounced him to music. He wore a wreath.
Kiptum was eyeing history in 2024 to be the first person to run an official marathon in under two hours. He was due to compete at the Rotterdam Marathon in April, which would have been his first event since breaking the world record.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe was one of the first to offer his condolences in a statement on social media.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the devastating loss of Kelvin Kiptum and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana,” Coe wrote. “On behalf of all World Athletics we send our deepest condolences to their families, friends, teammates and the Kenyan nation.”
“It was only earlier this week in Chicago, the place where Kelvin set his extraordinary marathon World Record, that I was able to officially ratify his historic time. An incredible athlete leaving an incredible legacy, we will miss him dearly,” Coe wrote.
David Rudisha, Kenya’s two-time Olympic champion in the 800 meters, wrote on social media that he was shocked and deeply saddened by the news.
“This is a huge loss,” Rudisha wrote.
Kiptum had immediate success by running the fastest time ever by a marathon debutant at the 2022 Valencia Marathon. The following year, he won the London and Chicago races, two of the most prestigious marathons in the world. While young and new to the circuit, he had already run three of the seven fastest marathon times ever recorded.
Kiptum was the latest of numerous top Kenyan runners to die in tragic road accidents.
David Lelei, an All-Africa Games silver medalist, died in a car crash in 2010. Marathon runner Francis Kiplagat was among five people who were killed in a crash in 2018. Nicholas Bett, who won gold in the 400 meters at the 2015 world championships, also died in a car crash in 2018.
Rudisha, former 10,000 meters world champion Moses Tanui and Olympic silver medalist Paul Tergat have all survived serious road accidents.
