Image credit: By Chad Veal – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
“I feel so happy. A world record was not in my mind today, but I knew I would be a world record holder one day.“
Destiny has arrived staggeringly early for Kenyan runner Kelvin Kiptum, the new men’s world record holder for a marathon distance after he finished the Chicago Marathon in 2 hours and 35 seconds. Just soak that in for a moment.
It’s another milestone which was captured in all its glory along Columbus Drive, the Kenyan blowing kisses to the crowd and spreading his arms as he fell into the arms of his coach, Gervais Hakizimana. All while, an animated announcer alerted the public they were witnessing the newest slice of running folklore.
Kiptum shaved 34 seconds off the previous record set by the legendary Eluid Kipchoge at the 2022 Berlin Marathon. Despite his split times coming in marginally slower than his Kenyan counterpart for the first 30 km, a final burst of speed in the last 12 km proved to be a critical difference in the final outcome.
Indeed, a five-kilometer split of 13:51 between kilometers 30 and 35 was 39 seconds faster than Kipchoge at the same stage of their respective races before a similarly speedy division over the next five kilometers.
Remarkably, the 23-year-old ran the 22nd mile in four minutes and 18 seconds—an athletic statistic that takes a while to sink in for the mere mortals who can only dream of such physical ability.
Kelvin Kiptum jarring thrust into the world’s spotlight was evidently not on his immediate horizon, the humble runner from Chepkorio still in the tender years of his athletic career.
In fact, his appearance at the Chicago Marathon was only his third ever professional race at that particular distance.10 months ago, he was a complete unknown with no races under his belt.
That changed with victories in the 2022 Valencia Marathon and 2023 London Marathon, where he set the fastest debut time and second fastest marathon ever records, catapulting him from an undiscovered gem to a potential world beater.
But who is Kelvin Kiptum, and what does the latest record-breaking attempt mean for marathon running in the future?
Who is Kelvin Kiptum?
Tucked in the west of Kenya, nestled within the Rift Valley, lies the remote village of Chepkorio in Elgeyo Marakwet County.
It’s here where Kiptum cut his teeth as a runner, a path he knew he was destined to follow from a young age. It’s no surprise that he was surrounded by some of Kenya’s great runners and would regularly witness some of his village mates win races on TV.
One such runner was Geoffrey Kamworor, a double New York Marathon winner, silver medalist in the 10,000 meters at the 2015 World Athletics Championships, and second-place finisher at the 2023 London Marathon behind Kiptum.
Once upon a time, Kelvin Kiptum would watch and admire runners trotting along the sidewalks for their morning runs on his way to school—and now he’s beating them in major marathons.
Talk about life coming full circle.
Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum destroys the@maratonvalencia course record with 2️⃣:0️⃣1️⃣:5️⃣3️⃣, becoming the third fastest marathon runner ever as a debutant
