Marathon world record-holder Kelvin Kiptum killed in car crash

NAIROBI, Kenya — Marathon world record-holder Kelvin Kiptum, who was set to be a superstar of long-distance running, was killed along with his coach in a car crash in Kenya late Sunday.

Kiptum was 24 and had the world record he set last year at the Chicago Marathon ratified by international track federation World Athletics just last week.

Kiptum, who was Kenyan, and his Rwandan coach Gervais Hakizimana were killed in the crash at around 11 pm. Another Kenyan athlete, Milcah Chemos, confirmed their deaths to The Associated Press. She was at the hospital mortuary where the bodies were taken and had seen Kiptum's body, she said.

The crash happened on a road between the towns of Eldoret and Kaptagat in western Kenya, Chemos said, in the heart of the high-altitude region that’s renowned as a training base for distance runners.

She said she went to the hospital with other athletes and members of Kiptum's family after hearing the news. The family members were there to identify Kiptum's body.

The Kenyan track federation said it was deeply saddened to announce the deaths of Kiptum and Hakizimana.

Kenyan media reported that only one car was involved in the crash and a third person, a woman, was also in the vehicle and was taken to the same hospital with serious injuries.

Kiptum was the first man to run the marathon in under 2 hours, 1 minute in an official race when he set the world record of 2:00.35 in Chicago in October, beating the mark of fellow Kenyan and marathon great Eliud Kipchoge.

He was due to compete at the Rotterdam Marathon in April, which would have been his first event since breaking the world record.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe was one of the first to offer his condolences in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

"We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the devastating loss of Kelvin Kiptum and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana," Coe wrote. "On behalf of all World Athletics we send our deepest condolences to their families, friends, teammates and the Kenyan nation."