Only months after he crossed the finish line at the 2023 Bank of America Chicago Marathon in world record fashion, 24-year-old running star Kelvin Kiptum has…
Kenya’s Kiptum was 24 and one of the most exciting prospects to emerge in road running in years, having broken the world record in only his third appearance in an elite marathonOnly months after he crossed the finish line at the 2023 Bank of America Chicago Marathon in world record fashion, 24-year-old running star Kelvin Kiptum has“We are shocked and saddened by the news of the recent death of Kelvin Kiptum," Chicago Marathon Race Director Carey Pinkowski said in a statement Monday.
Kiptum's death reverberated through Kenya, where runners are the biggest sports stars. Kenyans have also gotten used to tragic tales involving their top athletes after a number have died in road crashes, other accidents and domestic violence cases. Athletes and family members, including Kiptum’s father, gathered at the hospital mortuary where the bodies of Kiptum and his coach were taken. One of the athletes, former women’s steeplechase world champion Milcah Chemos, struggled to speak while breaking down in tears.Kenneth Kimaiyo, a friend of Kiptum, said he arrived at the crash scene soon after it happened and Kiptum had been thrown out of the car. Photos showed the silver car with a badly mangled roof and the windshield crushed flat.
“An athlete who had a whole life ahead of him to achieve incredible greatness,” Kipchoge said in a message paying tribute. “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.”
While young and new to the circuit, he had already run three of the seven fastest marathon times ever recorded and was seen as a rare talent.David Lelei, an All-Africa Games silver medalist, died in a car crash in 2010. Marathon runner Francis Kiplagat was among five people who were killed in a crash in 2018. Nicholas Bett, who won gold in the 400 meter hurdles at the 2015 world championships, also died in a car crash in 2018.
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