Remembering Kiptum, one 12 months later

Remembering Kiptum, one 12 months later

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Today marks precisely one 12 months since males’s marathon world file holder Kelvin Kiptum tragically handed away in a deadly highway accident in Kaptagat, which additionally claimed the lifetime of his long-time buddy and coach, Rwandese nationwide Gervais Hakizimana.

Kiptum would have been 25 years and 69 days previous in the present day.

While his household has deliberate a personal memorial service to mark the day, residents of his village in Chepkorio are nonetheless struggling to come back to phrases with the loss.

The fateful day

A go to to the accident scene by People Sport yesterday revealed that the tree Kiptum’s automobile hit on the fateful day, killing him and his coach immediately, has since been minimize down by the villagers. They imagine the tree carried a foul omen after taking the lifetime of their beloved son.

The scene seems very completely different now, apart from a single pair of trainers nonetheless held on a smaller tree close by and discoloured ribbons that have been doubtless used to tie bouquets of flowers introduced by mourners after the accident. There can be candle wax from the tons of of candles lit to mourn Kiptum by associates, relations, athletics fans and curious passersby.

The metallic signal that had been mounted on the scene, displaying his pictures from the 2023 Chicago Marathon when he broke the lads’s marathon world file, and one other picture of him sporting a black swimsuit with a black bowtie whereas holding the 2023 World Athlete of the Year award in the course of the World Athletics Gala, has additionally been taken down.

The signal initially featured a message that learn: “A true hero is not measured by the size of his strength but by the size of his heart. Rest in peace, our hero. Kirkit Kipkeleny Tulwo.” “Kirkit Kipkeleny Tulwo,” in Kalenjin, means a bull that overcomes any problem, symbolizing power.

Autopsy report

According to an post-mortem report on Kiptum’s accident, the reason for loss of life was extreme head trauma. The report by Kenya’s Chief Government Pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor detailed in depth cranium fractures, significantly on the base of the cranium, extreme sufficient to trigger the spinal twine to intrude into the cranial cavity.

The post-mortem additionally recognized fractures on either side of Kiptum’s ribs and contusions on the lungs, indicating injury doubtless attributable to the influence. Dr Oduor concluded that the extreme head accidents have been the first reason behind loss of life.

People Sport realized from the Kenya National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) that Kiptum acquired his first driver’s license on March 6, 2023, only a few weeks earlier than successful the London Marathon. This signifies that, on the time of his loss of life, he had solely 11 months of driving expertise.

At his former college, Chepsaimo Primary and Junior Secondary School, the blow stays insufferable for the lecturers who had witnessed a change of fortune of their lives, particularly after one among their well-known college students turned a world determine. It was a double loss for the varsity and the encircling group.

The college, positioned about two kilometres from Kiptum’s residence, faces a number of challenges similar to restricted assets, small class sizes and instructor shortages. Sun-baked earth roads result in the varsity’s entrance, marked by a vibrant archway adorned with the Kenyan flag and the varsity’s motto, “Empowering Minds, Building Our Future,” in daring lettering.

According to instructor Luka Bwalei, who taught Kiptum from Class 6 to Class 8, it was solely a matter of time earlier than the world star would change the face of the varsity, as he had promised.

The younger Kiptum

“I was Kiptum’s teacher from Class 6 to Class 8 here at Chepsaimo Primary. He joined the school in Class 6, coming from a school in Keiyo North whose name I can’t remember. He was a very disciplined boy, not talkative, and you could hardly notice if he was in class or not. In terms of education, he was average but excelled in Social Studies. His real strength was in co-curricular activities, where he consistently performed well in inter-school competitions at the zonal level, beating older runners in key races,” instructor Bwalei mentioned.

“We expected Kiptum to change the fortunes of this school. As you can see, the poor state of our administration block, we were hoping he would build a complex. He had agreed to do so. During his funeral, we wanted the ceremony to be held here so we could inform President William Ruto about Kiptum’s plans for the school and ask him to help make those dreams a reality. Unfortunately, the ceremony was moved to Chepkorio, and we couldn’t deliver the message, but I now believe it can still reach the President,” Mr Bwalei added.

According to Jeremiah Kipkorir, the restaurant supervisor at The Wells Irish Restaurant, the place Kiptum had been an everyday buyer earlier than his loss of life, the workers by no means knew he was a star athlete till they noticed him break the lads’s world marathon file on the 2023 Chicago Marathon.

“Kiptum had been a regular customer for a couple of years, but we never knew he was a star athlete until we watched him win the Chicago Marathon on October 8, 2023. We actually doubted it was him, so I had to check a receipt from a recent bill he had paid to confirm the names matched. And indeed, they did,” Kipkorir mentioned.

He added, “He always loved our special dawa (a concoction of ginger, lemon, and honey), white coffee, and occasionally, beer. His favourite beer was Whitecap. He was a cool person, not very social, and didn’t want anyone to know he was a star athlete. He would come up to the counter to pick up a drink if the waiter took too long. He wasn’t one to cause a scene, just a really nice guy who created a great rapport with everyone here.”

Grand tempo

Kiptum ran solely three full marathons, however his tempo was so spectacular that two of them rank among the many 4 quickest marathons ever run, and the opposite is the seventh quickest. His legacy will undoubtedly endure.

One of his coaches, Nahashon Kibon, described him as a expertise out of this world, stating that it might take a very long time earlier than the nation produces the same athlete.

“Kiptum’s strength showed towards the end of the marathon. There was no way anyone could beat him in the final stages of the race. If you wanted to beat him, you’d have to create a significant lead early on, but that would inevitably burn you out,” Kibon mentioned.

He added, “Kiptum didn’t like photos, but the Saturday before his fatal accident, he requested several photos after early morning training. We were with marathoners Paul Tanui, Timothy Kiplagat, coach Gervais Hakizimana, coach Nicholas Koech, and an Italian agent named Ricatto. We didn’t know that this would be the last time we saw Kiptum and Hakizimana alive.”

“On Thursday, February 8, 2024, we went for a long run with Kiptum and Timothy Kiplagat, who was his training partner and friend. The two were preparing for different marathons: Kiptum for Rotterdam, Kiplagat for Tokyo. They covered 40 kilometres at a blistering pace in Moiben, and it was so tough that we, in our cars, struggled to keep up with their pace, especially when we needed to give them water.”

Death blow

Kibon additionally shared that Kiptum’s loss of life had a critical influence on Timothy, who had initially determined to not compete within the Tokyo Marathon on March 3, 2024. However, Kibon was in a position to persuade him to race for “Kiptum’s sake.” Kiplagat led the race till the 39-kilometre mark earlier than being overtaken by Benson Kipruto, ending second with a time of two:02:55, whereas Kipruto received with 2:02:16.

“It wasn’t easy convincing Timothy to reconsider his decision to skip the Tokyo Marathon. I told him I would even travel with him to Tokyo and that Kiptum would be proud if he won. They had trained together for it, and Timothy had lost a brother, a training partner, and a confidant. He was going through a lot. Timothy could have easily won, but he sustained an injury towards the end of the race and had to settle for second,” Kibon mentioned.

He added, “Athletes need to be strong mentally. They face pressure from many sources—coaches, agents, training partners, friends, family, and themselves. They want to be the best; they don’t want to let anyone down, including their country.”

Kiptum left behind a widow, Asenath Royich, whom he was married to for 10 years, and two youngsters, a son, Caleb Kigen and a daughter, Precious Cherop Kiptum.