Kelvin Kiptum’s Father Recalls Receiving Strange Visitors 4 Days to Son’s Tragic Death
Samson Cheruiyot, the father of the recently deceased marathon record-breaker Kelvin Kiptum, has shared his thoughts for the first time following the tragic passing of his son on Sunday night.”
Speaking during an interview on Monday afternoon, Cheruiyot noted that Kiptum was his only son and his death was a blow to his family.
Cheruiyot further indicated that four days before Kiptum’s death, he received a strange visit from four individuals who refused to identify themselves.
“Unidentified people came to my house and told me that they were Kenyans who just came to visit my son,” Cheruiyot recalls stating that the four refused to disclose the motive of their visit.
“Kiptum was my only child. Now he has left me and my grandchildren. I do not know what to do. What am i going to tell his kids. The government should help us. We are stuck with no one to help us,” Said the Father.
Mr Cheruiyot revealed that he was watching Tv that evening when he first received a call from unkown person that a car belonging to his son had been spotted and it has been involed in a road crush.
Immediately, he rushed to the accident scene but by the time of his arrival, the bodies of his son, Rwandese Coach Gervais Hakizimana, and a lady in their company had already been taken to the hospital.
His final conversation with Kiptum had taken place on Saturday night and involved plans to build a house.
“On Saturday night, I talked to him and he told me that he would go to Fluospar and return home. When he returned, he told me that a man (a white man) would come to build us a house. He also told me that he would run for 1 hour 58 minutes (in the upcoming race) because he felt his body was in great shape,”Said his Dad.
Cheruiyot also recalled Kiptum’s firm decision to pursue marathon as a career, choosing to forego a course in Electronic Wiring at Eldoret Polytechnic.
“When he was at school studying wiring and got grade 3, I looked for a position at Eldoret Polytechnic for him to pursue Grade 2 but he refused. He told me that he felt in his heart that he needed to exercise and I agreed,” he added.
Kiptum passed away after a car he was driving landed into a ditch claiming both his life and that of his coach. A lady who was in the car with them survived after sustaining serious injuries.
A police report indicated that he lost control and veered off-road entering into a ditch on his left side. He drove in the ditch for about 60 meters before hitting a big tree.
