A huge march of athletes and admirers to say goodbye to Kelvin Kiptum

Hundreds of Kenyan athletes and fans Kelvin Kiptumthe world marathon record holder who died on the 11th in a traffic accident, marched on Tuesday in his honor in several towns in eastern Kenya, where he will be buried next Friday.

“We have lost a hero. We are here to support his family and say goodbye to him as we seek to preserve his legacy in memory,” said the deputy governor of Elgeyo Marakwet county, Grace Cheserekin statements reported by local media.

Marches in honor of the athlete were held in the towns of Iten and Kapsabetfamous for hosting some of Kenya’s best runners.

The processions took place on the same day as confirmed by Kiptum’s family His funeral will be held this Fridaya day ahead of schedule.

“It is a state event and the president (of Kenya, William Ruto) will be there. The date has been changed from February 24 to 23 because the president will be available that day. On Saturday he will fly to Namibia to attend the funeral of his late president (Hage Geingob),” said a representative of Kiptum’s family.

The funeral will take place at his birthplace in Chepkorio town (west).

The 24-year-old athlete died together with his coach, the Rwandan Gervais Hakizimana, in a traffic accident that occurred on the night of the 11th on the road connecting Eldoret to Kaptagat (west), in a car that he drives himself. .athlete.

The accident unleashed a wave of sympathy in Kenya and around the world praising 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.