President William Ruto has awarded Asenath Rotich, the widow of the late Kelvin Kiptum, a medal.
The National Heroes’ Council, who visited the deceased's home on Wednesday to pay homage, presented the widow with a medal and a certificate noting that it was from the Head of State.
The council, which was led by its CEO Charles Wambia, further noted that it was embarking on an exercise of constructing a center in honour of Kiptum.
A member of the council Hussein Kadida explained that the center will play a critical role in inspiring the youth to venture into sports, considering that Iten is a beloved training ground by record-breaking athletes the world over.
He further noted that the center would give the youth a chance to engage positively and drop vices like banditry.
Since the center was a big undertaking, Wambia noted that it would be built in association with the Elgeyo Marakwet County Government.
Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Wisley Rotich welcomed the move noting that it would promote peace within the county.
“We should have other Kenyans from different communities who have excelled in various sectors like sports, business, and agriculture being honored to inspire our young people,” he stated.
Kiptum, who is a World Marathon record holder, passed away on February 12 in a road accident along the Eldoret-Kaptagat Road.
Aged 24, the star athlete passed on two months before he attempted to become the first human to run a record in under 2 hours.
Weeks later, Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor, after conducting a postmortem on his body, noted that the athlete passed away after sustaining head injuries.
"Kelvin was a 24-year-old gentleman who it was alleged was involved in a fatal motor vehicle accident," he told the press in Eldoret.
"Upon doing the postmortem, the findings are that the late Kelvin had severe head injuries. There were severe skull fractures which were mainly at the base of the spine. The spinal cord had intruded into the cranial cavity because of the fractures."
