Kelvin Kiptum, the Kenyan runner who smashed the marathon world record last year, died in a car accident on Sunday night. He was 24.
Police reported that Kiptum was driving when his vehicle crashed into a ditch and hit a tree, killing both him and his Rwandan coach Gervais Hakizimana on site. A 24-year-old woman was hospitalized with serious injuries.
The accident occurred near Kiptum’s high-altitude training town of Kaptagat. As news spread, fellow Kenyan athletes gathered emotionally at the mortuary. “I have no words to explain the loss of Kelvin,” steeplechaser Milcah Chemos said outside the hospital mortuary.
Just last week, Kiptum’s staggering world record time of 2:00.25 set in October’s Chicago Marathon was officially ratified. It shattered fellow Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge’s previous best mark in the first sub-2:01 marathon ever.
At only 24 with blazing speed, Kiptum was set to battle Olympic legend Kipchoge for the Paris gold. “An athlete who had a whole life ahead of him to achieve incredible greatness,” Kipchoge lamented on social media.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe expressed profound grief, having just formalized the record.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the devastating loss of Kelvin Kiptum and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana,” Coe wrote.
“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,” Coe tweeted. “An incredible athlete leaving an incredible legacy, we will miss him dearly.”
After a shocking marathon debut in 2022 clocking the fastest first-timer time ever at Valencia, Kiptum won the 2023 London and Chicago Marathons – two high-profile Abbott World Marathon Majors events.
He has run three of the seven quickest marathons to date. But at just 24 years old, Kiptum’s boundless potential will never be realized.
Kenyan President William Ruto said in a statement, “He was only 24. Kiptum was our future.”
Traffic collisions have claimed the lives of countless athletes in Kenya.
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 meter hurdles at the 2015 world championships, also died in a car crash in 2018.
Kiptum’s shocking death has resulted in calls for better road safety across Kenya.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.