The Paper reporter Chen Jun
Kiptum died in a car accident.
Just when the world was waiting for "Supernova" Kiptum to break the two-hour limit of the marathon, the bad news came one step ahead of the record.
On February 12, Beijing time, according to a number of Kenyan media, marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum died in a car accident at the age of 24.
According to reports, Kiptum was killed in a car accident on the evening of February 11 local time, and his coach Hakizaman was also killed in the car accident, and a female passenger in the car was seriously injured. According to the newspaper El País, local police said Kiptum's car ran out of control and fell into a ditch 60 meters away and crashed into a tree, causing serious damage to the vehicle. Kiptum and Hakizaman both died on the spot, but the woman in the car survived and was taken to the racecourse hospital.
The 24-year-old Kiptum is considered the next "king of marathons".
Kelvin Kiptum was born on 2 December 1999 and ran his first half marathon in Kenya in 2013 and ran several times in the years since, with a best time of 28:27.87 in the 10,000m, 28:17 in the 10km and 58:42 in the half marathon.
At the Valencia Marathon in December 2022, Kiptum made his debut in the whole marathon, and finally set a time of 2:01:53 for the "fastest first marathon in history". Less than a year later, at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, the then 23-year-old Kiptum won the race in 2:35 (an average pace of 2:51 per kilometer), breaking Kipchoge's previous world record of 2:01:09.
According to media reports, just a few days ago, Kiptum's world record was officially certified by the World Athletics Federation, and he himself was the men's champion of last year's World Marathon Grand Slam and won the title of World Athletics Athlete of the Year at the end of the year.
It is worth mentioning that as the best professional marathon runner in the world, Kiptum actually plans to race each year in advance. His next race is scheduled for Rotterdam in April. Kiptum has been preparing for the Rotterdam Marathon for a long time, and his training sessions even include a 40km run at a "240" pace, which means that if the weather conditions and other factors are good, the Rotterdam Marathon is very likely to witness a new marathon record, and may even become the first time that a human has run a two-hour marathon in an official marathon.
Kiptum broke the marathon world record in just a few races.
However, a car accident took the lives of Kiptum and his coach, and his running story was forever frozen. After the incident, former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga expressed his condolences to Kiptum. Odinga wrote: "We mourn together the passing of this illustrious man, world record holder and Kenyan track and field icon Kelvin Kiptum, which is devastating news. They tragically passed away in an accident tonight along with his coach. I extend my deepest condolences to his family, friends and the entire sporting community. Our country is deeply saddened by the loss of a true hero. ”
World Athletics President Bastian Coe also expressed his condolences: "We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn the tragic news of the death of Kelvin Kiptum and his coach. On behalf of all world athletics athletes, we extend our deepest condolences to their families, friends, teammates and Kenya. In Chicago, where Kelvin set an extraordinary marathon world record. An incredible athlete left an incredible legacy, and we will miss him deeply. ”
Editor of this issue: Zou Shan