The widow of Kenyan athlete Kelvin Kiptumworld marathon record holder, assured this Tuesday that the runner, who died this Sunday in a traffic accident in Kenya, I am optimistic about the possibility of a drop of two hours by 2024 at that distance.
Kiptum, 24, believes with “optimism” that he can achieve this feat, his widow, Asenath Cheruto, said in statements to local newspaper ‘Daily Nation’.
According to his training partners, with whom he often runs around the Kaptagat athletes center (western Kenya), Kiptum He’s even better than last October, when he broke the marathon speed record.
“We have many plans. I was even thinking about taking me with him to the Rotterdam marathon on April 14,” Cheruto said.
Additionally, they are both building a new house in the city of Eldoret (west), where they plan to live with their children.
Cheruto saw his wife for the last time on Saturday morningwhen, like every weekend, Kiptum left for Fluorspar training camp.
They spoke on the phone several times over the weekend.
His mother-in-law woke him up on Sunday night around 11:00 pm local time (20:00 GMT), informing him that his wife’s car had been found in a forest in Kaptagat.
At first they thought someone had kidnapped Kiptumbut they learned of his death at the Racecourse Hospital morgue, where the authorities first took the athlete’s body.
Kenyan Sports Minister, Ababu Namwamba, traveled to Eldoret on Monday to offer his condolences to Kiptum’s family, where he promised that the Government would work to offer him “a national hero’s farewell” in a funeral where, at this moment. , no date set.
According to a police report collected by local media, Kiptum lost control of the vehicle he was driving and crashed into a tree on the road from Eldoret to Kaptagat.
The young athlete and his coach, Rwandan Gervais Hakizimana, died, while the third rider survived without serious injuries.
The accident unleashed a wave of sympathy in Kenya and internationally praised the figure of Kiptum, who was called to mark an era in athletics because of his youth and for being the main candidate to go under two hours in the mythical distance.
He became world famous on October 8, when he set a time of 2h00:35 and clearly lowered the previous record held by his countryman Eliud Kipchoge with 2h01:09, which was achieved in Berlin on September 25, 2022.
Source: La Verdad
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