Marathon world record-holder Kelvin Kiptum has died in a car crash in Kenya, fellow athlete says

By TOM ODULA, MUTWIRI MUTUOTA and GERALD IMRAY
Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A fellow athlete says marathon world record-holder Kelvin Kiptum has died in a car crash in Kenya. Kiptum was 24. Milcah Chemos, who went to the hospital with other athletes and family members of Kiptum to identify his body, says Kiptum’s coach was also killed in the crash. She says the crash happened on a road between the towns of Eldoret and Kaptagat in western Kenya, in the heart of the high-altitude region that’s renowned as a training base for long distance runners. Kiptum set the new world record of 2 hours and 35 seconds at the Chicago Marathon in October, becoming the first man to run an official marathon in under 2 hours and 1 minute.