24-Year-Old Marathon World-Record Holder Kelvin Kiptum Dies in Car Accident
The running world is mourning the loss of a legend.
Kelvin Kiptum, the marathon world-record holder, tragically passed away in a car crash along with his coach Gervais Hakizimana on February 11 in his native Kenya. He was 24.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the devastating loss,” World Athletics president Sebastian Coe wrote in a February 11 statement on X, formerly Twitter. “On behalf of all World Athletics we send our deepest condolences to their families, friends, teammates and the Kenyan nation.”
The single-car crash that took the lives of the long-distance runner and his 36-year-old coach occurred at around 11 p.m. local time between the towns of Eldoret and Kaptagat in western Kenya, according to NBC News. The car, which contained Kiptum, Hakizimana and an unidentified woman, reportedly veered off the road into a ditch and hit a tree. The third passenger in the vehicle was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.