Kenyan runner Kelvin Kiptum, who held the marathon world record set last year in Chicago, died in a car accident in Kenya on Sunday night. He was 24 years old.
World Athletics issued a release Sunday night confirming his death.
“A great athlete achieved a great feat and we will miss him dearly,” World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said in a statement.
Nation Africa reported that Rwandan coach Gervais Hakizimana was also killed in the accident in which Kiptamu was driving a Toyota Premio, according to Elgeyo Marakwet police chief Peter Murinzi. The accident occurred at 11pm (local time) on Sunday.
Mlinge told media outlets that Kiptum lost control of the car, veered off the road and hit a tree. Kiptum and Hakijimana died at the scene, and another passenger was taken to hospital.
Kenyan runner Milka Kemos confirmed Kiptum's death to The Associated Press and said she went to a hospital in Eldoret after hearing about the accident. She said Kemos said the accident occurred between the towns of Eldoret and Kaptagat in western Kenya.
On October 8, 2023, Kiptam completed the Chicago Marathon in 2 hours and 35 seconds, shaving 34 seconds off the world record. He defeated compatriot Daniel Matejko at the 30-kilometer mark to win the 26.2-mile race by almost three and a half minutes. It was just the third marathon in his career.
In April 2023, he won the London Marathon in 2 hours 1 minute 25 seconds, which was the second fastest marathon in the record books and course records at the time.
Kiptam started running at age 13, following local marathon runners on trails and roads. He won the Eldoret Half Marathon in 2018 at the age of 18 and made his international debut at the Lisbon Half Marathon the following year, finishing fifth in 59 minutes and 54 seconds.
His marathon debut was in Valencia in 2022, where he broke away after 30km and finished in a course record time of 2 hours, 1 minute and 53 seconds, the fastest in history. At the time, only Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele had run a faster marathon.
