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Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum celebrates after winning the 2023 Chicago Marathon Pro Men’s Division and setting a marathon world record of 2:00.35 on October 8, 2023 at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois.
nairobi
CNN
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Current marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum and his coach Gervais Hakizimana were killed in a road accident on the outskirts of the Rift Valley town of Eldoret on Sunday night, Kenyan police said.
The 24-year-old Kenyan athlete and his coach, who were driving the Toyota Premio, died at the scene of the accident, Elgeyo-Marakwet County Police Commander Peter Mlinge told CNN.
The third occupant survived with serious injuries, Mulinge added.
“He lost control, veered off the road, went into a ditch 60 meters away and hit a large tree,” Mr Mulinge said. The accident occurred around 11pm local time.
Kiptam’s marathon world record of 2:00:35, set at the Chicago Marathon last October, was recognized by the World Athletics Federation just a few days ago. He had just switched from sprint races to marathons a year before setting that record pace.
He improved his personal best time by 50 seconds and broke the record of 2:01:09 set by fellow Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, widely considered the greatest marathoner of all time. Kiptum was widely believed to be Kipchoge’s successor and a possible candidate to run the marathon in less than two hours.
Hakizimana, 36, is a former professional athlete from Rwanda who has competed in races ranging from 5,000 meters to half marathons.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said Kiptum was “an incredible athlete with an incredible legacy. We will miss him tremendously.”
“We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the devastating passing of Kelvin Kiptum and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana,” Mr Koh said. “On behalf of World Athletics, I would like to express our deepest condolences to their families, friends, teammates and the people of Kenya.”
Mr Coe added: “It wasn’t until earlier this week in Chicago, where Kelvin set his incredible marathon world record, that I was able to officially recognize his historic record.”
Kiptum’s manager, Bob Verbeek, described him as a “beloved friend.”
“On behalf of my colleagues and friends at Golasso (management group), I would like to express my deepest condolences to their families, friends and everyone involved in athletics,” Verbeek said in a statement.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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