World marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum and his coach Gervais Hakizmana were involved in a car crash in western Kenya, injuring a third passenger, police said on Sunday.
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The 24-year-old man was driving from Kaptagit to Eldoret in western Kenya on Sunday evening when the car rolled over.
“The accident happened at around 11pm (2000 GMT). There were three passengers in the car, two of whom died on the spot and one was taken to hospital. The two were Kiptum and his coach,” said Peter Mulinge, the police commander in Elgeyo Marakwet County in western Kenya.
He told reporters: “Kiptum was driving to Eldoret when the vehicle lost control and rolled over. Two people died on the spot. A female passenger was injured and has been sent to the hospital.”
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said he was “shocked and saddened to learn of this devastating loss”.
“On behalf of all World Athletics athletes, we send our deepest condolences to their families, friends, teammates and the nation of Kenya,” Coe said in a statement.
“An incredible athlete left an incredible legacy and he will be deeply missed.”
Kiptum ran a world record 2:00:35 at the Chicago Marathon in October, 34 seconds slower than fellow Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge’s previous mark.
read moreKenyan Kiptum sets world record to win Chicago Marathon
Kiptum’s run marked the third time a men’s world record has been set on the streets of Chicago, but the first since Morocco’s Khalid Khannouchi in 1999.
At the time, Kiptum was only 23 and running his third marathon.
World Athletics said Kiptum had not competed since then but had planned to compete in the Rotterdam Marathon in April, where he hoped to become the first person to run the two-hour marathon on a record-breaking course.
Kiptum made his debut in Valencia in 2022 before winning the London Marathon last April.
Hakizimana, a runner from Rwanda, had been training in Kenya for many years and met Kiptum at the Chepkorio Youth Village.
Kiptum began herding goats and sheep as a teenager a decade ago, then began training with Hakizmana and other runners.
By 2019, Kiptum had run two half-marathons in two weeks, running 60 minutes and 48 seconds in Copenhagen and 59 minutes and 53 seconds in Belfort, France, and began training with Hakizimana, who was recovering from Covid-19. Stayed in Kenya when the pandemic broke out.
(AFP)