By Jorge Hernandez
Feb 18, 2024, 1:40 PM EST
As had been announced, this Sunday a tribute was paid to the owner of the marathon world record, Kelvin Kiptumalready his coach before the XXXIX edition of the Seville City Marathon.
It is worth remembering that The record holder died this week at the age of 24 in a car accident on the road that connects Eldoret with Kaptagat, in his native Kenya, when he was heading to practice in the company of his coach.
In the face of such tragedy, the 12,000 athletes who met this morning, as did the organizers, respectfully observed 42 seconds of silence to remember and pay tribute to the world record holder, the only one who managed to finish a marathon in 2 hours and 00:35 seconds, surpassing the mark of his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge.
The organization of the Sevillian event, which this year also hosts the Spanish Marathon Championship, wanted to pay tribute with this symbolic silence, one second for each kilometer of the race, which includes 42,195 kilometres.
The image of the more than 12,000 athletes, elite and popular, registered for the Seville Marathon just before the starting signal was given was very emotional, especially for the thirty compatriots of the victims who participated in the race today. .
Kevin Kiptum had a short career, but he left a great legacy
In his short sporting career, Kiptum, 24, only ran three marathons. He debuted in Valencia, in December 2022, with the fastest time in history for a rookie in the race (02:01:53) and later, in 2023, he won first in London with 02:01:25 and On October 8 he broke the world record for the distance with 02:00:35 in Chicagosnatching the previous record from his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge.
Ethiopian double in the race, but there was no world record
In the test, the Ethiopian Deresa Geleta and his compatriot Azmera Gebru won the thirty-ninth edition of the Seville Marathon this Sunday in a race in which Ibrahim Chakir and Ester Navarrete were proclaimed champions of Spain and secured their place in the Paris Olympic Games 2024.
Gereta closed the test in 02:03:26, dropping just over a minute from the record that was set two years ago (02:04:42); For his part, Gebru closed at 02:03:47.
*With information from EFE.
Keep reading:
· Kelvin Kiptum, owner of the marathon world record, died in a traffic accident in Kenya
· Kelvin Kiptum, who broke the world record in the Chicago Marathon, dreams of going to the Olympic Games
· Athlete Benjamin Kiplagat is found dead after stabbing and cutting his neck