Kelvin Kiptum, the fastest marathon runner in history, died in a car accident in Kenya on Sunday at the IAAF World Championships. announced. He was 24 years old.
Kiptam ran the Chicago Marathon in October with an incredible time of 2:00:35. He became the first person to complete a recorded marathon in less than 2 hours and 1 minute.
His running coach, Gervais Hakizimana, also died in the accident, which occurred just before 11pm local time in western Kenya. According to AFP news agency.
World Athletics said Kiptum is one of the most exciting and promising athletes in the sport. The organization named him the world’s best athlete for 2023.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the devastating deaths of Kelvin Kiptum and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana,” World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said in a statement.
“On behalf of World Athletics, I would like to express our deepest condolences to their families, friends, teammates and the people of Kenya,” he continued. “He was an incredible athlete who accomplished incredible things and we will all miss him dearly.”
Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga mourns the death on Xpreviously called Kiptum a “true hero” of the country on Twitter.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
