A whole bunch of individuals gathered within the Kenyan athletics hub of Eldoret on Thursday for a funeral procession in honour of marathon prodigy Kelvin Kiptum, who died earlier this month when his automobile crashed right into a tree.
His coffin, encircled with flowers, was carried in a hearse by means of the streets of the city within the Rift Valley of western Kenya, some watching in silence, others singing hymns.
Kiptum was killed on February 11 on the age of 24, only a few months after he smashed the world marathon report.
“It’s troublesome to just accept this occurred,” Athletics Kenya government committee member Barnaba Korir stated.
“It’s a huge void in Kenyan athletics.”
A married father of two, Kiptum might be laid to relaxation on Friday at his house in Chepkorio, close to Eldoret, a day after a requiem mass.
The procession snaked its manner by means of roads lined with followers and athletes because it headed in direction of to Iten, the legendary high-altitude coaching area.
“We now have to just accept that Kiptum is now not with us,” cleric Philip Chumo stated because the coffin was loaded into the black hearse.
“He’s right here in spirit.”
Native sports activities official Purity Koima stated Kiptum was beloved by everybody.
“We misplaced so many athletes right here in Iten however Kiptum’s demise has hit everybody onerous,” she stated.
– ‘Extreme head accidents’ –
Police stated Kiptum was driving close to Eldoret round 11:00 pm (2000 GMT) when his automobile veered off the highway right into a ditch and hit a tree.
His Rwandan coach Gervais Hakizimana, 36, additionally died within the accident whereas one other passenger, a lady, was injured.
“We discovered that the late Kelvin had extreme head accidents and there have been extreme fractures which have been primarily on the base of the cranium,” chief authorities pathologist Johansen Oduor stated on Wednesday after an post-mortem.
Toxicology checks have been nonetheless beneath manner, he added.
Kiptum burst onto the marathon scene in 2022 and shattered the world report in Chicago in October final yr.
He ran in a time of two hours 35 seconds, slicing 34 seconds off the earlier quickest time, set by his Kenyan rival, the marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge.
The younger athlete had competed in solely three marathons and recorded three of the all-time quickest seven occasions for the occasion.
He was the favorite to take gold at this yr’s Paris Olympics, the place he was anticipated to go head-to-head with Kipchoge for the primary time.
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