The father of Kelvin Kiptum, the late marathon world record holder, is calling for a probe into his son’s death, citing accusations that four unidentified men came to look for him days before the deadly vehicle accident.
Kiptum, 24, died in a car accident in Kenya with his coach, Gervais Hakizimana from Rwanda. The incident happened just five days after World Athletics acknowledged Kiptum’s world record time of 2:00:35, set following his victory in the Chicago Marathon, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Samson Cheruiyot, Kiptum’s father, has called for a probe into the events that led to his son’s murder. Cheruiyot told Kenya’s Citizen TV that a party of four people had come to hunt for Kiptum barely four days before the fatal car accident.
“There are people who came home a while back who were looking for Kiptum but they refused to identify themselves,” Cheruiyot went on to say. “I requested for identification, but they chose to go. The group consisted of four persons.”
He revealed that he learned about his son’s terrible death while watching the news. He described his last chat with Kiptum, in which the 24-year-old stated a desire to run the marathon in under two hours and build a new home for the family.
When he arrived at the accident site, he discovered that Kiptum’s body had already been transferred by police to Eldoret, Kenya. He explained that Kiptum had expressed confidence in his physical fitness and ability to run a marathon in 1:59.
“Kiptum was my only child.” He left me, his mother, and his children. I have no additional children. His mother was sick for a spell. I’m extremely saddened.
Kiptum and his coach, Hakizimana, were killed in a horrific crash on Sunday in Kaptagat, a popular training ground for distance runners in southwest Kenya. On Monday, details of the incident emerged, showing that a 32-year-old female passenger called Sharon Chepkemoi survived and was brought to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Eldoret.
According to Kenneth Kimaiyo, one of the first responders, Kiptum’s body was discovered beneath the truck, already dead, but Hakizimana was recovered alive on a nearby hill. According to reports, Kiptum, a father of two and the son of an athlete, lost control of his vehicle and struck with a large tree near Kaptagat on the Eldama Ravine-Eldoret highway.
Kiptum was returning from Eldoret in Uasin Gishu County when the tragedy happened, according to Athletics Kenya President Jackson Tuwei. The truck drove off the road into a ditch before crashing with a huge tree around 60 meters away from the main road. Tuwei claimed that the bodies had been transported to the hospital for autopsy, which would begin after briefing the families and obtaining appropriate agreements.
The collision occurred at 8 p.m. GMT on Sunday, or 11 p.m. local time. The vehicle suffered considerable damage and was transported to a nearby police station for assessment and possible action.