Kiptum dies | Kiptum, winner of the 2022 Valencia Marathon and world record holder, died in a road accident
World athletics is crying inconsolably. First of all, for the tragic death of a 24-year-old guy who had his whole life ahead of him in a tragic road accident in his native Kenya, between Eldoret and Kaptagat. And secondly, because in this catastrophic and desperate accident, the nascent star of the marathon went out, the man everyone considered the best candidate to complete the distance of 42,195 meters in less than two hours in the official race.
Kelvin Kiptum, the indomitable 30km athlete, will no longer run in Rotterdam, where he was eagerly awaited and the whole planet wondered whether the Dutch city would be the place where he would finally make history. The African who announced himself to the universe in Valencia died this Sunday, leaving to posterity the world record achieved in Chicago with which he overthrew Eliud Kipchoge. Big words.
The Kenyan put in three spades and had a bright future ahead of him. The first in Valencia, in his marathon debut, where he had the pleasure of running under two hours and two minutes, a feat only achieved by Kipchoge. He clocked 2:01:53, which changed his life because from that moment on, the world’s great marathons and top brands wanted to seduce the budding star.
That was in 2022, and since then Kiptum has fueled the planet’s anticipation with two other exhibitions. First in London, jeopardizing Kipchoge’s world record for the first time, which he had just 16 seconds left (he stopped the clock at 2:01:25). On October 9, hours before Community Day celebrations in Valencia, a Kenyan became the closest person to date to running a marathon under two hours in a comparable race. It was in Chicago, and for several kilometers they dreamed that this would be a great day. As a result, the watch broke away from the stratosphere barrier in just 35 seconds. Yes, these 2:00:35 will, unfortunately, be an eternal record.
Kiptum left this world record as a legacy. As a way of proclaiming that people don’t have limitations, or at least don’t want to impose them. There will forever be doubt as to whether he managed to accomplish this feat on his feet for just over two months in Rotterdam. Nor will it be possible to see the most coveted battle against Kipchoge, his predecessor, for Olympic gold at the Paris Games.
Trinidad-Valencia Marathon Alfonso Zurich dreamed of convincing Kiptum of his goal of one day celebrating a world record at the Ciutat de les Arts. “Anyone who can attack him will be talked to, and he turned out to be one of them,” Juan Botella, manager of SD Correcaminos, said recently. An unconditional lover of athletics, in addition to his family and friends, Botella would currently be one of the saddest people on the planet.
Because not only sport, but also humanity was left without a man who seemed destined to write a golden page in the history of mankind. A catastrophic road accident, about which few details are known at the time of writing, left Kelvin Kiptum’s work half finished. Over 24 years of dreams and three legendary careers, the African has excited all sports fans. His successors are tasked with honoring his memory by training hard to knock down his colossal 2:00:35 mark as quickly as possible.