12/02/2024
The men's marathon world record holder, Kenya's Kelvin Kiptum, has died in a road accident in his home country, age 24. He was killed alongside his coach, Rwanda's Gervais Hakizimana.
His rise to fame had been rapid. He entered his first major competition in 2018, running in borrowed shoes because he couldn't afford a pair of his own. He only competed in his first full marathon in 2022.
And then, in just his third marathon, in Chicago, October 2023, Kiptum took 34 seconds off the world record, clocking the 26.2 miles (42km) in just two hours and 35 seconds. It was his last race.
Author Adharanand Finn pays tribute to the "insanely brilliant" runner who was a "complete paradigm shift for the sport”.