Kelvin Kiptim, marathon world record holder whose ambitions of breaking the race’s two-hour barrier were prematurely ended by a car crash earlier this month, was remembered for his talent and humility at his funeral service on Friday in western Kenya.
The service, held at the Rift Valley village of Chepkorio was well attended by political and featured dignitaries, including the Kenyan President, William Ruto and World Athletics president, Sebastian Coe.
24-year-old Kiptum had only run three international marathons but each was among the fastest seven times to be ever recorded.
He had set the world record in Chicago last October in two hours and 35 seconds, snipping 34 seconds off his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge’s mark.
The president of Athletics Kenya, Jack Tuwei had eulogised him saying, “He was a real superstar whose path was on a spectacular upward trajectory. All indications were he was going to beat the two-hour barrier.”
Anglican Bishop Paul Korir, who presided over the funeral service, had harped on Kiptum’s humility and ties to the local community, where he had worked as a livestock herder and trained as an electrician before becoming a professional runner.
Kiptum will be interred later on Friday in a family plot near the city of Eldoret. The government is now building a house for his wife and two young children on that land.
Kiptum had been hoping to break two hours at a marathon in Rotterdam this coming April and was also expected to make his Olympic debut in Paris this year in what could have been his first head-to-head competition with Kipchoge.
He and his coach Gervais Hakizimana were killed when the runner lost control of the vehicle he was driving.
