Kelvin Kiptum’s father raises suspicions over four mystery men after marathon star’s shock death

The father of Kelvin Kiptum has called on the Kenyan government to investigate his son’s sudden death after meeting four mystery men.

Kelvin Kiptum died in a car crash. Picture: Michael Reaves/Getty Images

The father of Kelvin Kiptum has said four strangers were looking for his son last week as he called on the Kenyan government to investigate the death of the marathon world-record holder.

Kiptum, a married father of two, was killed in a car crash on Sunday night when he lost control of his Toyota Premio near Kaptagat in southwest Kenya. He was 24. His Rwandan coach, Gervais Hakizimana, also died. According to local police reports a female passenger in the car was taken to hospital after suffering injuries when the vehicle slewed into a ditch and hit a tree.

As tributes poured in, Samson Cheruiyot hinted that something was not right in the days before the accident. He told Citizen TV in Kenya that four men had come to his home and refused to identify themselves.

“They said they wanted him and now that this has happened I am wondering what they were looking for at the time,” he said. “What did they want from my son because they refused to identify themselves?”

The wreckage of Kelvin Kiptum’s car. Picture: AFP

In October Kiptum eclipsed the great Eliud Kipchoge when he crossed the line in Chicago in 2hr 35sec, improving his compatriot’s best by 34 seconds and setting up what promised to be a thrilling duel between the two Kenyans at the Olympics in Paris this summer.

Kenya’s former prime minister Raila Odinga said on Twitter/X: “Devastating news as we mourn the loss of a remarkable individual, Kelvin Kiptum, world record holder and Kenyan athletics icon. Together with his coach, they tragically passed on in an accident tonight.”

Kiptum, who won last year’s London Marathon, had said before the accident that he would attempt to become the first man to run a legitimate competitive marathon in less than two hours, an athletics landmark seen as having similar prestige to the four-minute mile, first run by Roger Bannister in 1954. Kiptum hoped to run the time in April at the Rotterdam Marathon.

Lord Coe, the president of World Athletics, said: “An incredible athlete leaving an incredible legacy, we will miss him dearly.”

Kiptum was an astonishing talent, finding the energy to blow kisses in the closing metres of his record-breaking run in Chicago. From the moment he arrived on the marathon scene in Valencia in December 2022 it was clear that Kenya had another distance-running phenomenon.

Kelvin Kiptum after his world record run of 2:00.35. Picture: Michael Reaves/Getty Images

His winning time of 2:01.53 was the third-fastest in history but he claimed victory with the quickest closing half ever: 60:15. He went faster still in London last April, finishing only 16 seconds shy of Kipchoge’s best with 2:01.25. On that occasion he ran the second half in 59:45.

But on a Chicago course that is among the quickest on the marathon circuit - four world records have been set in Illinois - he did something really quite extraordinary. He was wearing the latest Nike shoes that have been at the forefront of this distance-running revolution; the same Zoom Vaporfly 4 per cent trainers favoured by Kipchoge. But he set a pace that felt like another significant moment in the evolution of his sport, and indicated that he might be capable of breaking the two-hour barrier.

“I feel so happy,” he said afterwards. “I saw the time in front of me. I felt good inside of me, maybe a little adrenaline. I said let me try - maybe I can run under two hours. I knew one day I would be a world-record holder.”

Kiptum is one of several Kenyan athletes to have died prematurely in recent years. Sammy Wanjiru, the 2008 Olympic marathon champion, died after falling from a balcony at his home in 2011. He was also 24. Agnes Tirop, a two-times 10,000m world bronze medallist, was stabbed to death at her home in 2021. Francis Kiplagat, a marathon runner, and Nicholas Bett, the 2015 400m hurdle world champion, both died in car crashes in 2018.

David Rudisha, the 800m world-record holder, Moses Tanui, a 10,000m world champion and Paul Tergat, a two-times Olympic silver medallist, have all survived serious road traffic accidents.

Originally published as Kelvin Kiptum’s father raises suspicions over four mystery men after marathon star’s shock death