Late Sunday, February 11, Kelvin Kiptum, 24, marathon runner who set the world record in the Chicago Marathon last November, died in a car crash in Nairobi, Kenya. On board with him, was his Rwandan coach, Gervais Hakizimana, 37, according to a fellow athlete, Kenyan runner Milcah Chemo.
According to the Kenyan media source that first reported the news, there was a third person, a woman, in the car with them and she too was taken to the hospital. She hasn’t been identified yet, but the witnesses said she was seriously injured.
The car accident happened on a road between two towns in Western Kenya, Eldoret and Kaptagat. Kiptum and his coach went to this region because it’s a very popular training base for long distance runners.
Kiptum was only 24, but was already a superstar in athletic circles. Last October, he set the world record in the Chicago Marathon of 2:00.35, beating the mark of fellow Kenyan, Eliud Kipchoge.
After hearing of the accident, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe expressed his condolences in a statement on X.
We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the devastating loss of Kelvin Kiptum and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana.
On behalf of all World Athletics we send our deepest condolences to their families, friends, teammates and the Kenyan nation.
It was only earlier this week in… pic.twitter.com/dDBKgjXNKL
— Seb Coe (@sebcoe) February 11, 2024
