The Kenyan long-distance runner, Kelvin Kiptum, embarked on his final training session with Timothy Kiplagat, unaware of the fact that it would be his last training session. Through his outstanding athletic display, Timothy Kiplagat has recorded his personal best in the Tokyo Marathon 2024 competition. With that effort, he secured silver in the race. Amid Kiplagat’s triumph, another iconic Kenyan marathon runner’s name has sprung up in relation to him.

Kelvin Kiptum, who died in a massive road accident last month, has left a never-to-be-filled void in the marathon realm. After Timothy Kiplagat’s win, a clip that featured him with the late Kiptum is breaking the internet, rekindling the memories of the rising Kenyan Olympic prospect.

A moment that will never be repeated again

Justin Lagat, who introduces himself as a Kenyan long-distance running coach, recently shared a clip on his X with the caption, “Timothy Kiplagat who ran 2:02:55 (unofficial) today at the Tokyo Marathon 2024 in his last training with world record holder Kelvin Kiptum who died in a road accident last month.” Lagat mentioned that the video has been provided by Kiplagat’s coach Nicholas Koech Chemogos. In the clip, Kiplagat and Kiptum were seen running together. In another X post, Lagat also revealed how Kiptum’s death unsettled Kiplagat.

“When he lost his training partner, Kelvin Kiptum, Timothy Kiplagat Ronoh was so affected. He stopped his training and had contemplated cancelling the Tokyo Marathon, “ Lagat wrote. He also stated that it was Coach Chemogos who pursued Kiplagat to change his mind. Kelvin Kiptum’s astonishing world record of 2:03:50, achieved in October during the Chicago Marathon, was nothing short of astounding. On his way to achieve that, he broke the record of another Kenyan Marathon legend. Notably, that legend also spoke of Kiptum’s loss ahead of the Tokyo Marathon 2024.

2x Olympic champion can not get over Kiptum’s loss

In the Chicago Marathon, Kelvin Kiptum rose to fame by breaking 2x Olympic Marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge’s record. Kipchoge had said that he was not all surprised at that fate. Before the Chicago Marathon, Kipchoge paid his homage to the late Kiptum once again. “His career was in high spirits and he was really running on a high level,” he said. It could not have been more apt. In his short lifetime, Kiptum only competed in three marathons and he won all of them. With this, came the question of the Paris Olympics.

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Here Kipchoge once again finds himself grappling with the palpable absence of Kelvin Kiptum. He emphasized the fact that the Tokyo Marathon would be “a little different” following Kelvin Kiptum’s death. “There were high expectations,” Kipchoge conceded. With Kenya remaining the powerhouse of Marathon throughout, it remains to be seen if Kiptum’s countrymates rise to the occasion to commemorate his loss in the Parisian arena.