The men’s marathon world record holder, Kelvin Kiptum from Kenya, has died in a road accident at age 24.
According to reports, he was killed alongside his coach, Rwanda’s Gervais Hakizimana, in a car on a road in western Kenya on Sunday.
“Devastatingly sickening!! Kenya has lost a special gem. Lost for words,” Kenya’s Sports Minister Ababu Namwamba wrote on X.
Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga also said the country had lost “a true hero” and was mourning “a remarkable individual… and Kenyan athletics icon”.
Kiptum made a breakthrough in 2023 as a rival to compatriot Eliud Kipchoge – one of the greatest marathon runners.
And it was in Chicago last October that Kiptum bettered Kipchoge’s achievement, clocking the 26.1 miles (42km) in two hours and 35 seconds.
Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics, said Kiptum was “an incredible athlete leaving an incredible legacy, we will miss him dearly”.
The road accident happened at about 23:00 local time (20:00 GMT) on Sunday, police were quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
Giving further details of the crash, police said Kiptum was the driver, and the vehicle “lost control and rolled, killing the two on the spot”.
A spokesman quoted by AFP added that the third passenger – who was female – had been injured and “rushed to hospital”.
