Kenya’s world marathon record-holder Kelvin Kiptum will be laid to rest Friday in the nation’s athletics heartland after the 24-year-old died in a car accident.
President William Ruto and World Athletics head Sebastian Coe are expected to be among the mourners at the funeral in the Rift Valley where Kiptum was born, trained and died.
Hundreds turned out on Thursday in his home village of Chepkorio in western Kenya to pay an emotional tribute to the rising star who had been the overwhelming favourite for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Fans and athletes lined the roads , some in silence, others singing hymns, as Kiptum’s coffin was transported in a hearse to Iten, the legendary high-altitude training region in the Rift Valley.
Kiptum, who is a father of two, veered off the road and hit a tree on February 11, just months after shattering the marathon record in Chicago in October.
He ran the distance in two hours and 35 seconds, slicing 34 seconds off the previous fastest time, set by his Kenyan rival, the marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge.
While Kiptum only competed in three marathons, he won all of the races, posting three of the seven fastest times for the event.
His sudden death has left Kenya, and the wider athletics community, reeling.
