Marathon world record-holder Kelvin Kiptum dies in a road accident

Marathon world record-holder Kelvin Kiptum died in a road accident on Sunday. The Kenyan athlete, who was named World Athlete of the Year in 2023, was 24.

According to World Athletics, Kiptum's coach Gervais Hakizimana, who was in the same car also lost his life in the accident along the Eldoret-Kaptagat Road in the Kenyan city of Eldoret.

“We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the devastating loss of Kelvin Kiptum and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe.

“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 Chicago, the place where Kelvin set his extraordinary marathon world record, that I was able to officially ratify his historic time. An incredible athlete leaving an incredible legacy, we will miss him dearly," he added.

Kiptum was the only person in history to run the marathon in under two hours and one minute. He ran three of the seven fastest marathons in history.

Kiptum was an emerging distance runner. He made the headlines when he made his marathon debut in December 2022 and clocked 2:01:53 to win in Valencia.

Less than a year later, competing in just his third marathon, Kiptum broke the world record with 2:00:35 to win in Chicago.

At the 2022 Valencia Marathon, Kiptum finished the race in front, creating a course record of 2:01:53 – the fastest debut marathon in history and good enough for third place on the world all-time list behind distance legends Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele.

It was at the Chicago Marathon, he broke the world record, taking 34 seconds off Eliud Kipchoge’s world record from 2022.

Kiptum had not competed since last year’s Chicago Marathon, but he had been due to compete at the Rotterdam Marathon in April this year, where he was hoping to become the first man to break two hours for the marathon on a record-eligible course.