Kelvin Kiptum: Kenyan athletes react to news of his death

Kenyan athletes have reacted with shock to the news of world marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum's death on Sunday

The 24-year-old Kenyan was killed in a one-car road accident, alongside his Rwandan coach. Another female passenger was rushed to hospital.

Kiptum had the world record he set last year at the Chicago Marathon ratified by international track federation World Athletics just last week.

He was one of the most exciting prospects to emerge in road running in years and was a clear contender for gold in the marathon at the Paris Olympics in August.

Kiptum and his coach Gervais Hakizimana were killed in the crash at around 11 p.m.

Fellow athlete Geoffery Kamworor said he could not believe the news and is still in shock.

Another Kenyan athlete, Milcah Chemos, confirmed their deaths to the Associated Press. She was at the hospital mortuary where the bodies were taken and had seen Kiptum's body, she said.

She struggled to speak while breaking down in tears.

“I have no words to explain the loss of Kelvin,” she said.

The crash happened on a road between the towns of Eldoret and Kaptagat in western Kenya, Chemos said, in the heart of the high-altitude region that’s renowned as a training base for top distance runners from Kenya and across the world.

Kiptum was born and raised in the area.

Chemos said she went to the hospital with other athletes and members of Kiptum's family after hearing the news.

The family members, which included Kiptum's father, were there to identify his body.