World marathon running record holder, Kelvin Kiptum has passed away after driving his car into a big tree, it has been revealed.
Kiptum, the marathon runner, died on Sunday at the age of 24 in his native Kenya, with his coach, Rwanda’s Gervais Hakizimana, 37, also killed in the road crash near Kaptagat, an area in the south-west of the country renowned as a training base for distance runners.
The news has shaken the athletics world, with World Athletics president Seb Coe leading the tributes to Kiptum on Sunday night, saying he was ‘an incredible athlete leaving an incredible legacy’.
Details of the crash have now been revealed, with a female passenger, Sharon Chepkemoi, 32, surviving the incident after she was taken to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret.
Kenneth Kimaiyo, one of the first responders at the crash site, via Nation said Kiptum’s body was found under the vehicle with the runner already dead, and Hakizimana still alive on a hill.
He said he saw a man on a motorbike helping Chepkemoi at the scene, who was screaming for help and taken to Sanvanis Dispensary before he was transferred to MTRH.
“We tried to save the coach because he was still breathing, but he died immediately,” Kimaiyo, who added that he had known Kiptum for a long time because he would often visit his shop in Chepkorio, said.
“Kiptum was laying under he car with his seat belt ripped and he was already dead,” he revealed.
Kenyan journalist Kipruto Lagat, meanwhile, revealed photos of the crash site on social media in the early hours of Monday morning.
Accident scene where Kelvin Kiptum met his death. pic.twitter.com/np57dYFkCE
— Kipruto Lagat 🐘🐘🐘 (@ArapTilingi) February 12, 2024
Photos: Reuters, AFP, Getty Images