The Dream of ‘Finishing the Race in 2 Hours’ was never Achieved… Marathoner Kiftum Dies in Car Accident
Died in a car accident near Kenya's athletics training base.
Passenger and coach Hakijimana died at the scene.
Condolences continue as the marathon dream record of 'sub 2' is reached.
Kelvin Kiftum (Kenya), who held the marathon world record of 2 hours and 35 seconds, died in a car accident. 온라인카지노
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).
He died at the age of 24.
Kiftum lost control of the car he was riding on the road between Eldoret and Kaptagat in the Kenyan highlands and lost his life in an accident.
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, 00 minutes 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.
It is known that he underwent extreme training, running more than 300 km every week.
He stood out by winning the 2022 Valencia Marathon, 2023 London Marathon and Chicago Marathon.
Kiftum is married to a Kenyan wife and has two children.
He expressed condolences from all walks of life at the news of the sudden death of the most talented person in marathon history ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Sebastian Coe, President of World Athletics Federation, said: “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 networking service (SNS), “All of Kenya mourns the loss of a true hero.”