[Source: Reuters]

World marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum and his coach Gervais Hakizimana died in a traffic accident on Sunday, former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said on social media platform X.

Kenya’s minister for sports Ababu Namwamba said on X, “Devastatingly sickening!! Kenya has lost a special gem. Lost for words.”

Kiptum, 24, set the world record at the Chicago Marathon in October with a time of 2:00:35 to surpass the record of 2:01:09 set by his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge in Berlin in 2022.

Kiptum smashed the London Marathon course record earlier last year and was determined to make magic again in Chicago as he sped up through the 35-kilometre mark before thrusting his arms in the air to cheers from the crowd down the final stretch.