The sports world lost one of its biggest stars on Sunday. Current marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum has died at the age of 24 in a car accident.
Police said Kiptum lost control of his car near Kaptagat in southwestern Kenya at 11pm local time. The car went off the road, into a ditch and hit a tree.
According to the nationhe was already dead when first responders arrived on the scene.
His coach, 36-year-old Gervais Hakijimana, also did not survive the accident. A third person involved in the accident was taken to the hospital.
Kiptam started competitive running as a teenager and steadily improved to become one of the world’s top marathon runners by 2022. He set his fourth all-time time at the Valencia Marathon that year, and in his debut he won in 2:01:53. distance.
The following year, he won the London Marathon and then set a new record in Chicago. On October 8, Kiptam ran 42.195 km in 2 hours 0 minutes 35 seconds, becoming the first man to run under 2 hours 1 minute 00 seconds in a marathon. He broke the previous record in the race by 34 seconds.
Due to Kiptum’s incredible rise, he was considered a gold medal favorite at the upcoming Paris Olympics, as well as a candidate to break the mythical two-hour barrier. His death put an end to those aspirations.
Kiptam leaves behind a wife and two children.
