Kelvin Kiftum, The Marathoner who Broke the ‘2 Hours and 1 Minute’ Barrier, Dies in a Car Accident
Kelvin Kiftum (Kenya), who held the marathon world record of 2 hours and 35 seconds, died in a car accident.
Foreign media such as the Associated Press reported on the 12th (Korean time) that Kiftum died in a car accident along with his coach Gervais Hakizimana at around 11 pm on the 11th local time.
Kiftum, 24, lost his life when the car he was riding in lost control and crashed on the road between Eldoret and Kaptagat in the Kenyan highlands. 카지노
Kiftum and Hakizimana died at the scene of the accident, and one passenger was transported to a nearby hospital with serious injuries.
The accident area is known to be near a land training base in Kenya.
Kiftum is the first athlete to complete a marathon in under 2 hours and 1 minute.
He set a new world record by running the 42.195km full course in 2 hours and 35 seconds at the 2023 Chicago Marathon held in October last year.
It was a record that was 34 seconds better than the previous record of 2:01:09 set by legendary marathoner Eliud Kipchoge, also from Kenya, at the 2022 Berlin Marathon.
Born in 1999, Kiftum was raising sheep and goats in his hometown when he caught the eye of coach Haki Jimana and began his full-scale training.
He first competed in an international half marathon in 2018, and foreign media reported at the time that he had no money and borrowed shoes to compete.
Kelvin is known to have undergone extreme training, running more than 300 km every week.
He stood out by winning the 2022 Valencia Marathon, the 2023 London Marathon and the Chicago Marathon. In particular, he set a new world record at the Chicago Marathon and received attention as the athlete closest to marathoners’ dream record of ‘sub 2’ (finishing in less than 2 hours).
Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, everyone in the world expressed condolences at the news of the sudden death of the most talented person in marathon history.
Sebastian Coe, President of World Athletics Federation, said: “Kelvin Kiftum is an incredible athlete and leaves a tremendous legacy.
“We will miss him very much.”
Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga also posted on social media, “All of Kenya mourns the loss of a true hero.”