On Feb. 11, halfway through the Superbowl, the world received shocking news: Kenyan marathoner, Kelvin Kiptum, had died. The 24 year old world record holder had come into the 2024 season as the easy favorite to win gold in the upcoming Olympics. Over the past two years, Kiptum had a meteoric rise from being unknown to becoming the face of distance running and, according to many experts, the most likely person to run the first ever sub two hour marathon.
Even before he was a star runner, Kiptum still trained like one. He ran an upwards of 173 miles every single week. According to Pulse Sports Kenya, he was so rigorous with his training that he would often only see his wife and two children for a couple of hours each week, but the hard work paid off in the end. In 2022 Kiptum came out of nowhere and pulled off an upset victory in the Valencia Marathon. His time of 2:01:53 set the course record and made him one of only three people to ever break two hours and two minutes. It was easily the fastest debut any runner has ever had and Kiptum still wasn’t even close to what he would achieve the next year.
Kiptum was able to keep his momentum from Valencia going into the 2023 season, as he ran two marathons that year. The first of those was the London Marathon. Kiptum ran 2:01:25, the second fastest marathon of all time. The second half of Kiptum’s race was completed in just 59:45, the fastest split ever. Kiptum followed that performance up with a world record. On Oct. 8, 2023 Kelvin Kiptum completed the Chicago Marathon in just two hours and 35 seconds, beating the previous record by 34 seconds. The time is currently the only sub 2:01:00 marathon and it cemented Kiptum as one of the greatest marathoners to ever live.
Earlier this month, Kiptum’s career came to a tragically early end. While traveling from Chepkorio to Eldoret in Kenya, Kiptum lost control of his vehicle, causing him to drive into a ditch and ram into a tree. Both Kiptum and his coach Gervais Hakizimana died in the accident. Many people in the running community have spoken on Kiptum’s death, remembering his amazing abilities and consoling his family.
“I am deeply saddened by the tragic passing of the Marathon World record holder and rising star Kelvin Kiptum. An athlete who had a whole life ahead of him to achieve incredible greatness. I offer my deepest condolences to his young family.,” former marathon record holder and fellow Kenyan, Eliud Kipchoge said.
Kiptum will remain a hero to the running community. Both his abilities and work ethic far exceeded any other competitor in recent memory. Years after his death, Kiptum will still be remembered as one of the greatest athletes to ever live.
