Late on Sunday evening, the sports world was shaken by sad news. 24-year-old marathon world record holder, Kenyan endurance runner Kelvin Kiptum died in his home country in a car accident.
Also Kiptum’s coach Gervais as Hakizima, 36, died in the crash. In addition, there was a 24-year-old woman in the car who was transported to the hospital with serious injuries.
Kiptum managed to run three marathons, all of which are among the seven fastest marathon times of all time. Last October, Kiptum ran a ME time of 2:00:35 in Chicago. He became the first under 2.01 in an official competition.
A Finn who has coached in Kenya for almost 20 years Simo Wannas estimated to that Kiptum would have broken the two-hour ghost mark already in spring at the Rotterdam marathon.
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The accident happened in Western Kenya on a mountainous road between the towns of Kaptagati and Eldoret. The area is known around the world as a famous camp site for high altitude training.
More information has since been revealed about the death of Kiptum and Hakizimana. Kiptum was the driver of the car. The accident happened near the Rift Valley village where he was born.
Kiptum lost control of the car. The car derailed into a ditch and traveled along it for 60 meters until it hit a large tree.
Among other things, a Kenyan Nation and ABC News say that a motorcyclist was the first to arrive at the scene of the accident. One of the first people who came to help had known Kiptum Kenneth Kimaiyo.
Kimaiyo found Kiptum under the car. Hazikimina was lying nearby and still breathing.
– We tried to save the coach because he was still breathing, but he died quickly. Kiptum was lying under the car, his seat belt was torn and he was already dead, Kimaiyo mourned.
Those close to me broken by grief
Kiptum’s coach Hakizimana, 36, was a Rwandan ex-runner. He knew Kiptum long before the coaching relationship began in 2018.
– I knew him when he was a little boy herding cattle with bare feet. It was in 2009 when I practiced near his father’s farm. He came to kick my heels and I chased him away. Now I am grateful to him for his achievement, Hazikimina said last year.
Kiptum’s family is devastated. With Kiptum and his wife On Asenath Cheruiyot have two children.
Kiptum’s father, a farmer Samson Cheruiyot gave a lively interview to the Kenyan Citizen TV. The day before his death, Kiptum had promised that with the money he received from running, he would build his father a house and buy a new car.
– Kiptum was my only child, now he has left me. I don’t know what to say. I see her child looking at me and my child is gone… Now who will help us raise her child? Samson Cheruiyot mourned.
Kiptum’s wife appealed to the Kenyan government to help her take care of her 7- and 4-year-old children.
– He loved his children, I don’t even know what to tell them. He was so loving and caring, I’m just asking the government to help me.
A familiar story for African endurance running heroes: Kiptum wanted to raise himself and his family from poor farmers to a new standard of living through running, race prizes and sponsorship contracts.
Kiptum had stopped his electrical engineering studies to focus full time on running. The father accepted the decision when the son assured that it was the most financially sensible investment. After that, the father rented his son a room in the training center, where Kiptum lived until he won his first marathon.
Kiptum participated in his first major running competition in 2018 with borrowed shoes, because he could not yet afford his own. for the BBC he said that he started his running career directly on the roads because he simply could not afford to travel to places where there are athletic fields.
A special revelation from the father
Samson Cheruiyot has presented even more extraordinary claims regarding his son’s death. Among other things The Times and The Independent write that Cheruiyot demands an official investigation into her son’s tragic death.
The reason for the claim is that the day before the death, four unknown persons had come to Cheruiyot’s home. They had been looking for a shooting star. When Cheruiyot had tried to ask who they were, the four had decided to disappear.
Cheruiyot said he now wants answers about who the people were and what their purpose was.
– They said they wanted him, and now that this has happened, I wonder what they were looking for at the time. What they wanted from my son because they refused to identify themselves.
Kiptum’s tragedy has caused broken reactions around the sports world. Four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah said for the BBCthat Kiptum was a special talent who would have had an incredible career.
Leader of the London Marathon Hugh Brasher stated that Kiptum was a once-in-a-generation athlete destined to redefine the boundaries of his sport.
English endurance runner Emile Cairess believed that Kiptum could have come to athletics Usain Bolt -mental front view.
– An athlete of his level can really capture the attention of people outside the sport as well. A lot of people thought that you’d never see sub two hours in a marathon, but when he came along, sub two hours became self-evident, Cairess reflected.
– His mental strength and discipline were unmatched. Kiptum was our future. An extraordinary athlete has left an extraordinary mark on the world, the president of Kenya William Ruto wrote.
Continuation of Kenya’s sad history
Unfortunately, this is a tragedy, the likes of which have happened in Kenya and Africa before. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland Travel bulletin warns that traffic safety in Kenya is very weak and the driving culture is dangerous. There are more than 3,000 fatal crashes a year.
Kenyan middle distance runner David Lelei died in a car accident in 2010. Marathon runner Francis Kiplagat was among five people who died in a crash in 2018. Nicholas Bett400m gold medalist at the 2015 World Championships, died in a traffic accident in August 2018.
Two-time 800m Olympic champion David Rudisha10,000m world champion Moses Tanui as well as a 10,000-meter Olympic and World Cup silver medalist Paul Tergat have all been involved in a serious car accident in Kenya, but survived.
They are also remembered by Kenyans Samuel Wanjirun and Agnes Tiropin tragedies.
Wanjiru, who won Olympic gold in the marathon in Beijing in 2008, died in 2011 after falling from a balcony. Tirop, 10,000-meter World Cup bronze medalist and cross-country multiple World Cup gold medalist, was found stabbed in his home in 2021.