The death of World marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum and his coach Gervais Hakizimana hit the country hard.
The family of Kiptum’s coach Gervais Hakizimana has landed in the country as they try to come to terms with the death of their son.
Speaking to Citizen TV, Joan Chelimo, the widow of Coach Hakizimana expressed sadness after the sudden demise of her husband.
Chelimo said she received the news of the death from a friend who called her that fateful night.
Chelimo last spoke to Coach Hakizimana on Sunday before the accident.
She revealed that her husband promised to call her later in the evening only to receive news of the accident.
“My friend told me that Kiptum had been involved in an accident. I got shocked because when he left he was with Kiptum. I hung up at first but my friend called again to ask whether I was with my husband but I said he left with Kiptum. My friend who had arrived at the scene told me the news,” she said.
Chelimo said that the coach had promised to help Kiptum break the world record and it came to pass.
“When they started bonding, my husband told me to stay put in France for a bit. He said he wanted to train Kiptum to break the marathon record which he eventually did,” she said.
Joan added that her husband used to communicate all the time with her on the phone.
“I look at my phone every time thinking that my husband will call me. He used to call me often,” she said.
Kiptum passed away on Sunday night in a road accident at Kaptagat on the Elgeyo Marakwet-Ravine road.
He was in the company of his Rwandese coach Hakizimana.
Kiptum’s death happened six days later after the IAAF ratified his record of 2:00:35.
Kiptum broke Eliud Kipchoge’s world record in Chicago last October, running 26.1 miles in two hours and 35 seconds.
