World record holder Kiptum to be honoured at London Marathon

The marathon world record holder, Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum, will be honoured at the London Marathon on Sunday.

The 24-year-old died alongside his coach, Rwanda’s Gervais Hakizimana, in a car accident in western Kenya in February.

Kiptum was set to compete in this year’s London Marathon, where he was looking to win for the second year in a row.

The event will begin with a tribute to Kiptum.

“What we will be doing… is celebrating him,” event director Hugh Brasher said in an interview with BBC Sport Today.

“And we will be saying some words beforehand and asking all the participants to participate in 30 seconds of applause for Kelvin – for the life that we didn’t know, for the man that we didn’t know, but also for what he had achieved, for the man that he was and for the tragic passing of his life earlier this year.”

Kiptum had set records in all the three marathons he ran in his short-lived career.

He set the course record at the last London Marathon.

Shortly after, he ran the fastest marathon in history in Chicago, setting a record of 2:00.35.

Kiptum also set the fastest debut marathon time at his first marathon in Valencia.

The Rotterdam Marathon, in which Kiptum planned to race, also paid tribute to him last Sunday. Participants, including Kiptum’s wife Asenath Rotich, took part in a minute’s silence in his honour.