Eliud Kipchoge deeply saddened by Kiptum's death
Reading Time: 2min | Mon. 12.02.24. | 11:35
The two marathon greats were expected to collide for the first time in the Paris Olympics scheduled to run between July 26 to August 11 this year
Kenyan marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge said Monday he was "deeply saddened" by the sudden death of his compatriot Kelvin Kiptum in a car crash.
The favourite for the Paris 2024 Olympics was driving from Kaptagat to Eldoret in the Rift Valley of western Kenya around 11 pm on Sunday when his car came off the road and hit a tree.
News of his demise spread like wildfire with people from all walks of life pouring their tributes.
The latest to join in condoling the family and friends is former record holder Kipchoge who held on the best time until October last year when the 24-year-old broke it.
"I am deeply saddened by the tragic passing of the Marathon World record holder and rising star Kelvin Kiptum. An athlete who had a whole life ahead of him to achieve incredible greatness," Kipchoge posted in a statement on X.
The two marathon greats were expected to collide for the first time in the Paris Olympics scheduled to run between July 26 to August 11 this year.
From herding goats just a decade ago, Kiptum had announced he would attempt in April to become the first man to run an official marathon under the mythic two-hour mark in Rotterdam.
Kiptum hailed from Chepkorio, a village in the Rift Valley that is the heartland of Kenyan distance running, and where ultimately his death occurred.
Ten years ago, barely a teen, he herded goats and sheep and then began following Hakizimana and other runners as they trained in the legendary high-altitude region.
By 2019, Kiptum ran two half-marathons in two weeks, going 60:48 in Copenhagen and 59:53 in Belfort, France. He began training with Hakizimana, who stayed in Kenya when the Covid-19 pandemic struck.
Kiptum's death is the latest in a saga of tragedies to hit Kenya's young athletics hopefuls.
In 2011, Kenyan marathon great Samuel Wanjiru died at the same age after capturing the title at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
According to a pathologist, Wanjiru was killed from being hit on the head with a blunt object.
In 2021, distance running star Agnes Tirop was found stabbed to death at the age of 25 at her house in Iten, near Eldoret.
Her husband Ibrahim Rotich went on trial for her murder in November last year.
At the end of December, Kenyan-born Ugandan athlete Benjamin Kiplagat was found dead in his car with a stab wound to his neck near Eldoret. Two men have been charged with his murder.
Reporting by AFP
