Kenyan marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum dies at 24

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Kenyan marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum, 24, has died in a road accident in western Kenya. He was killed alongside his coach, Rwanda's Gervais Hakizimana, in a car on a road in Kenya. Kiptum made a breakthrough in 2023 as a rival to Eliud Kipchoge, one of the greatest marathon runners. Kiptum bettered Kipchoge's record by clocking the 26.2 miles (42km) in two hours and 35 seconds in Chicago last October. The two athletes had been named in Kenya's provisional marathon team for the Paris Olympics later this year.

Kiptum's rise to fame was rapid, with his first full marathon in 2022. He made an instant impact as he ran the then fourth fastest time on record (2:01:53) to win the Valencia Marathon before setting a course record of 2:01:25 at the London Marathon in April 2023. Six months later, in just his third marathon, Kiptum took 34 seconds off the world record time in Chicago in his final race.

Kiptum entered his first major competition in 2018, running in borrowed shoes because he could not afford a pair of his own. He was among a new crop of Kenyan athletes who began their careers on the road, breaking away from the past tradition of athletes starting on the track before switching to longer distances. Kiptum told the BBC last year that his unusual choice was simply determined by a lack of resources.

People have gathered outside the hospital in the Rift Valley town of Eldoret where his body has been taken. Kenyan Sports Minister Ababu Namwamba wrote on X: "Devastatingly sickening!! Kenya has lost a special gem. Lost for words." Kenya's opposition leader and former prime minister, Raila Odinga, said the country had lost "a true hero" and was mourning "a remarkable individual... and Kenyan athletics icon". Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics, said Kiptum was "an incredible athlete leaving an incredible legacy."