Kelvin Kiptum, the marathon world record holder, died in a car accident in Kenya on Sunday night. He was 24 years old.
Kiptum reportedly lost control of the car while driving from Kaptaget to Eldoret in western Kenya with his coach, Gervais Hakizimana, and a third passenger. Hakizimana and Kiptum passed away instantly, while the third passenger suffered injuries.
“The accident happened around 11 pm (2000 GMT). The car had three occupants, two died on the spot, while one was taken to hospital. The two are Kiptum and his coach,” said Peter Mulinge, the police commander for Elgeyo Marakwet County in western Kenya.
He also added, “It is Kiptum who was driving heading to Eldoret and the vehicle lost control and rolled, killing the two on the spot. A female passenger sustained injuries and has been rushed to hospital.”
At the Chicago Marathon in October, Kiptum set a world record with a time of 2:00:35, shattering the previous record held by fellow Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge by 34 seconds.
Kiptum’s run was the third men’s world record set in Chicago, but the first since Morocco’s Khalid Khannouchi in 1999. Kiptum was only 23 years old and running in his third marathon at the time.
According to World Athletics, Kiptum has not competed since, although he was scheduled to run at the Rotterdam Marathon in April when he hoped to become the first man to break two hours for the marathon on a record-eligible course.