Grief swept over Iten on Thursday as family, friends and athletes gathered to mourn the death of Kevin Kiptum, 24, who memorably broke the world record in the 2023 Chicago marathon in October.
Kiptum was reportedly driving his car around 11pm local time in Kaptagat, Kenya, on February 11, when he tragically lost control of the car. The car veered off the road and collided with a tree, ultimately leading to his death.
An autopsy report on Wednesday revealed that Kelvin’s death was caused by the severe head injury he sustained from the impact with the tree. “There were severe fractures which were mainly at the base of the skull,” chief government pathologist Johansen Oduor said on Wednesday.
Kiptum was accompanied in the car with two other passengers, his coach Gervais Hakizimana and a young woman, Sharon Kosgei, when the accident happened. Tragically, his coach died on the spot but Kosgei miraculously survived despite the severity of the crash.
AfricaNews correspondents note that there were lot of tears at the Iten Stadium in Kenya on Thursday where residents and other athletes gathered to pay their respects to Kiptum.
Kiptum’s mother Mary Kangongo and his wife Asenath Rotich were overwhelmed with grief and unable to be consoled earlier at the mortuary as the coffin was loaded into the hearse, reports AFP.
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Geoffrey Kamworor, a fellow marathon runner from the same village as Kiptum, expressed that future tournaments will lack the unique competitive edge that Kiptum brought to every race.
“I think the Olympics will not be the same again because many people were expecting a big battle from various and strong athletes,” he said.
Kiptum, born in the Rift Valley, the heartland of Kenyan distance running, was barely a teenager when he began following elite athletes training in the high-altitude region.
Kamworor and Kiptum notably put on a performance at the 2023 London Marathon, finishing almost three minutes apart to give Kenya a one-two finish. Kiptum ran the marathon in 2:01:25, the second-fastest marathon performance in history at the time, just 16 seconds behind countryman Eluid Kipchoge’s world record.
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Kiptum’s attempt in the London Marathon was even more spectacular because he completed the final 10 km in under 28 minutes, averaging 2:42 per kilometre.
Kiptum remarked after the race that he didn’t attempt to break the world record and had little idea he was in close distance.
Kiptum then broke the world record five months later, in October 2023, in the Chicago Marathon, becoming the first man to break 2:01. Kipchoge had only held his world record for a year when Kiptum broke it with a timing of 2:00:35.
Prior to that, Kiptum made history by running the fastest marathon debut in Valencia in December 2022. Kiptum completed the 42.195km course in an impressive time of 2:01:53, announcing himself to the world in style.
Tributes Pour in for Late Kiptum
Kiptum had planned to pursue a sub-2 marathon in races this year until his tragic death on Sunday, February 11.
Several well-known Kenyans, athletes and organizations have offered their condolences following the loss of the 24-year-old star.
Kenyan President, William Ruto, described Kiptum as “an extraordinary sportsman” who left a mark on the world. “Arguably one of the world’s finest sportsmen who broke barriers to secure a marathon record,” he wrote on X.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said on Thursday after arriving at the mortuary in Eldoret: “Kelvin’s achievements were extraordinary. That he should have scaled such heights at such a young age in itself is almost unique.”
Eluid Kipchoge, whose record Kiptum broke in Chicago, described the late Kelvin “an athlete who had a whole life ahead of him to achieve incredible greatness” after the news broke.
Marathon legend, Mo Farah, duly noted, “He truly had a special talent and I have no doubt he would have gone on to have an incredible career.”
The TCS London Marathon Event Director Hugh Brasher described Kiptum as an athlete who has the sport of marathon running in his feet and at his feet. “He was a ‘once in a generation’ athlete who was set to redefine the boundaries of our sport.”
The final farewell for Kiptum will take place at his residence in Naiberi this Friday. President William Ruto, state officials and notable figures from the world of athletics will all attend the burial ceremony.
