NAIROBI – Kenyan marathon star Kelvin Kiptum, who was killed in a car crash, died of severe head injuries, a medical examiner said on Feb 21 but toxicology tests were still under way.

The world marathon record holder died on Feb 11 at the age of 24 in an accident near his home, in the Eldoret area of Kenya’s Rift Valley.

“We found that the late Kelvin had severe head injuries and there were severe fractures which were mainly at the base of the skull,” chief government pathologist Johansen Oduor said.

Kiptum had also suffered multiple broken ribs and had injuries to his lungs, Oduor said, adding: “We have taken samples for further analysis because the circumstance of the death is still being investigated.”

Police said Kiptum was driving when his car careered off the road and hit a tree at around 11pm.

His Rwandan coach Gervais Hakizimana, 36, also died in the accident while another passenger, a woman, was injured.

The samples “will undergo a full toxicology analysis where we can see if there could be anything that could have contributed to his being involved in a motor vehicle accident”, said Oduor.

A family spokesman said they were satisfied with the details of the post-mortem and would proceed to bury Kiptum.

“As a family, we are satisfied and will proceed with the burial on Friday,” he said.

Kiptum, a father of two, will be buried on Feb 23 at the family home in Chepsamo near Eldoret.

Last week, officials had said he would be buried on Feb 24, with the government promising a “heroic farewell” to the young marathon star.

A Kenyan athletics official told AFP on Feb 20 that the funeral would be a “state function” with President William Ruto in attendance.

But it was brought forward because Mr Ruto would be attending the funeral of Namibian President Hage Geingob at the weekend, the official added.

Ahead of the funeral, a requiem mass was held on Feb 22 at Kiptum’s former school, while a candle-lighting ceremony in his honour was organised in the capital of Nairobi.

Hakizimana was buried in Rwanda on Feb 21, a day after a vigil was held at his family home.

Kiptum burst onto the marathon scene in 2022 with a stunning debut in the 42.195km distance in Valencia where he clocked 2hr 1min 53sec.

He then shattered the world record in Chicago in October 2023, slicing 34 seconds off the previous fastest time by his Kenyan rival, Eliud Kipchoge.

The young athlete had competed in only three marathons and recorded three of the seven all-time fastest times for the event.

He was the favourite to take gold at the Paris Olympics, where he was expected to go head-to-head with Kipchoge for the first time. AFP