Kelvin Kiptum Cheruiyot: All You need to know about the marathon genius in 10 points

1. He was marathon world record holder at the time of his death. He was the only person in history to run the marathon under two hours and one minute in a record-eligible race. He ran three of the seven fastest marathons in history.

2. Kiptum ran the fastest ever marathon debut at the 2022 Valencia Marathon, becoming only the third man in history to break two hours and two minutes and setting the then fourth-quickest time ever.

3. Kiptum followed it up four months later with the second fastest marathon in history at 2:01:25, 16 seconds outside the world record, at the 2023 London Marathon.

4. In his next race, the 2023 Chicago Marathon (WMM) six months later in October 2023, the 23-year-old broke the world record by 34 seconds with a time of two hours and 35 seconds.

5. Kelvin Kiptum was born on 2 December 1999.He grew up in Chepsamo village

6. Together with nearby counties of Kenya, the region is known as the birthplace of many renowned Kenyan runners and also as a mecca for foreign runners.  Kiptum started training around 2013, when he was 13 years old.

7.In 2013, at the age of 13, Kiptum participated in his first half marathon, the Family Bank Eldoret Half Marathon in his native Kenya, finishing 10th; he placed 12th the following year.

8.In 2018, the teenager took his first victory, winning this race with a time of 62:01. He was self-coached at the time. Kiptum then debuted on the international stage at the Lisbon Half Marathon, Portugal, in March 2019, finishing fifth with a new personal best of 59:54.

9. He participated also in six other races that year touring north and west Europe,and winning the tough Kass Half Marathon back home in November.

10. Kiptum was married to Asenath Rotich and they had two children.On 11 February 2024, at 11 PM, Kiptum was killed in a road traffic accident between Kaptagat and Eldoret, Kenya in which his coach Gervais Hakizimana also died