According to authorities on Sunday, a third passenger was hurt in a car incident in western Kenya that claimed the lives of world marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum, 24, and his coach Gervais Hakizimana.
“The mishap occurred at approximately 11:00 p.m. (2000 GMT). There were three people in the car; two of them passed away instantly, and the third was hospitalized. Kiptum and his coach are the two,” stated Peter Mulinge, the western Kenyan county police chief for Elgeyo Marakwet.
He said that at the time of the collision, the vehicle was traveling to Eldoret, a city in western Kenya.
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At the Chicago Marathon in October, Kiptum set a world record with a time of 2:00:35, shattering the previous record held by fellow Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge by 34 seconds
World Athletics, an international track body, validated Kiptum’s record last week.
After learning of the late-night mishap, Jackson Tuwei, the president of the Kenyan athletics association, said he had dispatched a team of authorities to the scene.
At the 2022 Valencia Marathon, Kiptum set a record for the fastest time ever by a marathon rookie. This gave him instant success. Last year, he emerged victorious in two of the world’s most esteemed marathons: the London and Chicago races.
One of the first people to post a condolence message on X, the former Twitter platform, was Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the devastating loss of Kelvin Kiptum and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana,” Coe wrote in a statement. “On behalf of all World Athletics we send our deepest condolences to their families, friends, teammates and the Kenyan nation.”
“I was only able to formally confirm Kelvin’s incredible marathon World Record time earlier this week in Chicago, where he achieved it. We will miss him terribly. He was an amazing athlete who left an amazing legacy,” Coe stated.
