Three men have been arrested in Kenya in connection with the death of athlete Kelvin Kiptum, who died this Sunday in a car accident. The Kenyan police confirmed to local media this Wednesday the arrest in the town of Kaptagat, in Elgeyo Marakwet county, where the world marathon record holder was born, and the transfer of the suspects to Iten, a small town 50 kilometers away.
Investigators intend to find out why these people visited the athlete four days before the fatal accident. Kiptum’s father, Samson Cheruiyot, had appealed on Monday to investigate the visit to Kiptum’s home by four people whom he himself saw, but “who refused to be identified.”
Kiptum, only 24 years old and with an impressive marathon world record obtained on October 8 in Chicago (2h 0m 35s), was driving the car that went off the road on Sunday night and crashed into a tree on the highway in Eldoret-Kaptagat, in the Rift Valley. Along with Kiptum, his coach, the Rwandan Garvais Hakizimana, died. A woman who accompanied them in the vehicle was seriously injured, according to Kenyan newspapers.
The death of the great athletics star has shocked Kenya. President William Ruto published on Monday on social network (formerly Twitter): “Kelvin Kiptum was a star (…) At only 24 years old, like a hero, he triumphed in Valencia, Chicago, London and other high-level competitions. His mental strength and discipline were unmatched. Kiptum was our future.”
The Minister of Sports of the African country, Ababu Namwamba, has already visited Kiptum’s relatives in the Eldoret area, to whom he has promised that Kenya will give the record holder “a national hero’s farewell.” The date of Kiptum’s funeral has not yet been officially announced, but the family has told some journalists that the young athlete will be buried in the town of Kaptagat on February 24. Athletics Kenya, the Kenya Athletics Federation, has canceled the trials for the Pan African Games scheduled for this weekend as a sign of mourning.
Kelvin Kiptum had a short but brilliant sports career. He ran only three marathons, and in all three he left his mark. He debuted in Valencia in December 2022, with the fastest time in history for a debutant (2h 01m 53s). In 2023 he won first in London, with 2h 01m 25s, and then in Chicago, where he was one step away (just 35 seconds) from what seemed impossible: going under two hours in the 42-hour test. kilometres. And the day before he admitted that he had not been able to train very well due to a groin injury, and the difficulties of running on muddy terrain during an intense rainy season in Kenya. “I wasn’t planning on breaking the record here, in Chicago, but I knew that one day I would achieve it,” he said, happy, then, after leaving the world with its mouth open.
Kiptum’s father, a farmer, has claimed that the boy inherited his love of athletics from his mother, who used to compete in high school. “The best explanation for his time is his desire to get out of hunger and misery and a physiological capacity magnified by his life at altitude,” summarized a few months ago his coach Garvais Hakizimana, who also died in the tragic accident. Sunday. In Kenyan media, another phrase from the runner’s father stands out these days: “I hoped he would take us to the top.”