Newly crowned world marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum received a Sh5 million award from the government following his remarkable performance at the Chicago Marathon last Sunday, where he posted a new record of 2:00.35 in the 42km race.
Kiptum became the first person ever in history to run a marathon in under two hours, one minute, breaking the previous record held by two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge of 2:01:09 set in Berlin last year.
The 23-year-old Kiptum said he was delighted to have broken the world record and he is glad of the support he got from his family, friends, and trainers.
“I am happy for the support I have received from my family, my trainers, the Ministry of Sports, and my managers at Golazo,” Kiptum said. He said he changed nothing to his training regime and on a lighter note, had not planned to break the marathon record but fortunately, it came earlier.
“I did not change anything in my training to break the record; I just worked hard. The more you work hard, the greater the results. I was aiming at breaking it in 2030 but fortunately, it has come early,” Kiptum said.
Kiptum also told young athletes in the country to have patience and stick to training if they are to get good results; noting that doping for a young athlete was wrong and a shortcut that would mess them in the long run.
“Many of our young athletes get into doping to get fast results but it is wrong. We need to show them the way and tell them to have patience, train hard, and keep focused,” Kiptum said.
He revealed that he is eager to represent the nation in the coming 2024 Paris Olympics and he would try once again to break a record.
“For now I am going to rest before resuming training. The Olympics are coming and if I am selected, I will be happy to represent my country and also try my best,” he added. Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba who handed Kiptum the cheque noted that Kiptum shattering the world record was great for the country and he was thankful for his efforts.
“Having this world record is great for the country and we are happy and on behalf of the ministry and the President we say a big thank you to Kiptum,” Namwamba said. Namwamba also added that sports and athletics in particular, was Kenya's number one brand and the country is recognized globally for athletes.
