Hundreds of grieving people paid an emotional tribute on Thursday to Kenyan marathon prodigy Kelvin Kiptum, who died in a car crash earlier this month.
His coffin, encircled with flowers, was carried in a hearse through Kenya’s long-distance running hub of Eldoret, some watching in silence, others singing hymns.
Kiptum’s mother Mary Kangongo and his wife Asenath Rotich were inconsolable at the mortuary as the wooden coffin was loaded into the black hearse.
Kiptum died February 11 in a road accident near Eldoret at the age of 24, just a few months after he smashed the world marathon record.
Speaking at the tribute ceremony, Athletics Kenya executive committee member Barnaba Korir said it was difficult to accept his death, stressing that his nonexistence is a big void in Kenyan athletics.
Kiptum, a married father of two, was to be laid to rest on Friday in Naiberi, near Eldoret, where the government is building a new home for the family. World Athletics head Sebastian Coe and Kenyan President William Ruto were reported to be among those attending the funeral.
