Marathon tragedy

Kelvin Kiptum dies in car accident

The news felt like a shockwave through your body, a gut punch when you least expect it. Hunkering down to watch the Super Bowl, an unofficial national holiday, I received a text message with the following attachment. The stunning news that Kelvin Kiptum had died suddenly in a car crash, along with his coach, in his native Kenya.

Just last fall, Kiptum set the world record in the marathon (2:00:35). At 24, he had so many of his best miles ahead of him. “Struck down in his prime” doesn’t even begin to capture the impact that this loss has on the sporting community – in Kenya, for sure, and in the world of marathon running as well. His countryman, Eliud Kipchoge, had set the standard as the undisputed GOAT (Greatest of All Time) in the marathon. Kiptum was poised to be even better than the great Kipchoge. Now, we’ll never find out. We can only speculate as to how fast Kiptum would have been, could have been.

There have been famous United States athletes who have died tragically. As a New York Yankee fan growing up, the news of Thurman Munson’s tragic death in a plane crash felt similar. As a fan of baseball and its rich lore, the deaths of Lou Gehrig and the great Roberto Clemente also surge to the front of the mind. In the case of Gehrig and Clemente, their greatness was cemented over long careers, which were sliced away toward the conclusion of their athletic lives.

This feels different, way different. Kiptum was so young, so full of promise. Avid marathon fans relished with anticipatory glee, how much faster he could have gone.

It’s weird. Here in the United States, the Super Bowl will surely dominate our sports media consciousness and coverage today – as it always does. This tragic news may get overlooked. Not here, not now. Kelvin Kiptum, young marathon great, gone – way, way too soon. Wow.