NAIROBI, Kenya — Marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum, who was to become a long-distance running superstar, died along with his coach in a car accident in Kenya late Sunday.
Kiptum, 24, set a world record last year at the Chicago Marathon that was recognized by World Athletics just last week.
Kenyan Kiptum and Rwandan coach Gervais Hakizimana were killed in the accident around 11pm.
Another Kenyan athlete, Milka Kemos, confirmed the death to The Associated Press. She was in the mortuary of the hospital where her body was taken, and she said she had seen Kiptum’s body.
Kemos said the accident occurred on the road between the towns of Eldoret and Kaptagat in western Kenya, in the heart of a highland region known as a training base for long-distance runners.
She said she went to the hospital with other players and Kiptum’s family when she heard the news. Family members were at the scene to identify Kiptum’s body.
Kenya Athletics Federation said it was very sad to announce the deaths of Kiptum and Hakizimana.
Kenyan media reported that only one car was involved in the accident and that a third woman was also a passenger and was taken to the same hospital with serious injuries.
Kiptum set a world record of 2:00.35 in Chicago in October, breaking the record of fellow Kenyan and marathon great Eliud Kipchoge, who ran the marathon in less than 2 hours, 1 minute in an official race. He was the first athlete to run.
He was scheduled to run the Rotterdam Marathon in April, which would have been his first race since breaking the world record.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe was one of the first to express his condolences in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
“We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the devastating passing of Kelvin Kiptum and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana,” Ko wrote. “On behalf of all of World Athletics, we extend our deepest condolences to their families, friends, teammates and the people of Kenya.”
“It was only earlier this week in Chicago, where Kelvin set his incredible marathon world record, that I was able to officially recognize his historic record. An incredible athlete. He left an incredible legacy and we will miss him dearly,” Coe wrote.
Kenyan double 800m Olympic champion David Rudisha wrote to X that he was shocked and deeply saddened by the news.
“This is a huge loss,” Rudisha wrote.
Kiptum achieved immediate success, recording the fastest time ever as a marathon debutant at the 2022 Valencia Marathon.
The following year, he won the London and Chicago races, two of the world’s most prestigious marathon events. Despite being young and new to the circuit, he had already run three of his seven fastest marathon times ever recorded.
Kiptum was the latest of a number of Kenyan top runners to die in a tragic road accident.
All-African Games silver medalist David Lelei died in a car accident in 2010. Marathon runner Francis Kiplagat was one of five people killed in a traffic accident in 2018.
Nicholas Bett, who won gold in the 400m at the 2015 World Championships, also died in a car accident in 2018.
Rudisha, former 10,000m world champion Moses Tanui and Olympic silver medalist Paul Tergat all survived serious car accidents.
