Chepkorio: Top athletes and dignitaries led hundreds of mourners at the funeral of Kenyan world marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum on Friday in the athletics heart of the country where he was born, trained and died. Kiptum, a 24-year-old father of two, died in an overnight car crash on February 11, just months after breaking the marathon record in Chicago. President William Ruto and world athletics chief Sebastian Coe were among those who attended the funeral in the Rift Valley town of Chepkorio. “Kelvin’s achievements have been extraordinary.
That he should have reached such heights at such a young age is almost unique in itself,” Coe told AFP on Thursday after his arrival in Kenya. Kiptum ran the Chicago race in October in two hours and 35 seconds, cutting 34 seconds off the previous fastest time of his Kenyan rival, marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge. While Kiptum only competed in three marathons, he won all of the races and posted three of the seven fastest times in the event’s history. His sudden death has left Kenya and the wider athletics community in shock. “Fare you well champ,” read the headline on the front page of Kenya’s leading newspaper, the Daily Nation. Mourners, including 1500m record holder Faith Kipyegon, began arriving at the funeral site at dawn, some wearing black T-shirts with Kiptum’s image emblazoned across the front.
Also read: Celtics, Mavs stretch win streaks, triple-double milestone for Jokic
They viewed the body laid in a half-open casket on a red carpet while a choir sang religious songs. Four giant screens were mounted to stream the event to the many villagers gathered outside the venue. On Thursday, hundreds of people turned out as Kiptum’s coffin was taken from the Rift Valley town of Eldoret to his home village of Chepkorio. And in the capital Nairobi, hundreds of people joined a candlelight vigil to pay emotional tribute to the rising star, who was a hot favorite for the 2024 Paris Olympics. After the funeral service, Kiptum will be laid to rest in Naiberi, near Eldoret, where the government has built a new home for the national hero’s family.
Police said Kiptum was driving near Eldoret at around 11pm on February 11 when his car veered off the road into a ditch and hit a tree. Kenya’s chief government pathologist, Johansen Oduor, said Wednesday that autopsy results showed Kiptum suffered serious head injuries. Toxicology tests are still ongoing, he added. Rwandan coach Kiptum Gervais Hakizimana (36) also died in the accident. Hakizimana, who coached Kiptum since 2019, was laid to rest in the Rwandan capital Kigali on Wednesday. Known for maintaining a grueling training schedule that sometimes exceeds 300 kilometers (190 miles) a week, Kiptum recently announced that he hopes to break the mythical two-hour mark at the Rotterdam Marathon in April.
