Kenya Kiptum to be honoured at Sunday’s London Marathon

 

Tribute is planned for the fastest marathon runner in history, who died in a car accident in February

The TCS London Marathon will pay homage to Kelvin Kiptum, the men’s world marathon record-holder who sadly lost his life in a car crash, with a series of tributes this Sunday (April 21).

Kiptum won last year’s London Marathon in a course record of 2:01:25, narrowly missing Eliud Kipchoge’s previous world record by just 16 seconds.

Last October, Kiptum then blitzed Kipchoge’s mark of 2:01:09 with a stunning 2:00:35 at the Chicago Marathon, becoming the first ever person to go sub-2:01 over 26.2 miles.

Ahead of this season, Kiptum was the heavy favourite to win the Olympic marathon gold medal in Paris and there were even hopes he could break the two-hour barrier at the recent Rotterdam Marathon (April 14).

However, on February 11, the 24-year-old Kenyan was tragically killed in a car accident alongside his coach Gervais Hakizimana. The news shocked the sporting world and tributes poured in from all over the globe.

The London Marathon has therefore decided to honour Kiptum before the elite races begin on Sunday.

There will be a 30-second round of applause, a video of Kiptum’s life and performances will be played and Geoff Wightman, who is one of the announcers at the London Marathon, will also speak. Kiptum’s family won’t be present though.

“We want to celebrate the man,” says Hugh Brasher, Event Director of the London Marathon. “We’ll be doing this in conjunction with the BBC, as well, in terms of what they’re doing.

“There’ll be some words that Geoff will say, just to remind people [of Kiptum] and celebrate his short but impactful life.”

Women’s world marathon record-holder Tigist Assefa will make her first appearance in London and expectations is high. At last year’s Berlin Marathon, she ran 2:11:53, taking an astonishing two minutes and 11 seconds off Brigid Kosgei’s previous world record of 2:14:04.

Assefa and Kosgei will go head-to-head in London but they will also be joined by 2019 world champion Ruth Chepngetich, Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir and 2022 London winner Yalemzerf Yehualaw. This means three of the four fastest women in history are in the race.

 “I think what she [Assefa] did in Berlin redefined my thoughts of what would probably happen in my lifetime,” adds Brasher.

“Do I believe that a woman is capable of sub-2:10 and it will happen in my lifetime? Yes. I go back to what Paula [Radcliffe] did in 2003 when she ran 2:15:25 and that world record stood for 16 years.

“These things go in cycles and you’d had a period where Paula’s record wasn’t broken for such a long time. Now we’ve got these new athletes whose minds are not so much defined by the past but the future instead.”

With any record-breaking performance at a marathon, talk of the ‘super shoes’ is not far away.

When Assefa ran 2:11:53, she wore a prototype of Adidas’s Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1s, one of the lightest racing shoes ever created.

In a significant and historic moment for disability sport, the London Marathon will also be the first marathon in the world where prize money for both wheelchair and able-bodied athletes will be the same.

The London Marathon wheelchair races were already the richest in the world. However, a further increase of $54,500 to the prize money means the total prize pot now stands at $308,000, creating parity with the able-bodied athletes.

This means that all winners in the elite races of the London Marathon will receive $55,000, with the runner-up earning $30,000 and third-place $22,500.

Brasher has hailed this as a “landmark move” and one that means the London Marathon will be the “most diverse and equitable” one in the world.