The late World Marathon Record holder Kelvin Kiptum's parents have publicly lamented enduring an extremely difficult life since the passing of their son earlier this year.
Kiptum passed away on February 11 2024 from injuries sustained in a road accident, with his death cutting short what was a potentially glittery career on the tracks for the 24-year-old. He passed away alongside his Rwandese coach Gervais Hakizimana.
Months after the athlete's death, his parents have come forth to reveal their economic struggles, as they also complained about botched promises from the government.
The late Kiptum's dad mzee Samson Cheruiyot, was particularly vocal about some elements who were reportedly intent on blocking him from speaking up on the family's plight.
"The situation we are in would be better expressed than kept silent because we had tried to reach out to people on social media, but it was blocked," Cheruiyot said.
Cheruiyot added that since Kiptum's passing, he and his wife have been living in sub-par conditions, with amenities as simple as a toilet lacking in their compound.
He further talked of how his yields from maize farming were always at risk of diminishing since he lacked a proper facility to store harvests.
"Our maize is ready in the fields, but we’re uncertain where we will store it when it’s time to harvest. Lastly, drinking water is a constant challenge," Cheruiyot added. "We have to pay for a tractor to deliver water, and this has become an enormous burden."
"Drinking water is also a constant challenge. We have to pay for a tractor to deliver water, and this has become another burden. We kindly appeal to my late son’s friends to please come and see what we are going through, because these struggles are overwhelming."
On her part, the late Kiptum's mother claimed things have taken a turn for the worse since their only child passed away.
"I won't shy from saying that we've experienced many challenges since his (Kiptum) death," she stated. "We've really struggled. Everyone knows Kiptum was our only child and he was someone whom we were relying on."
In February, Kiptum's dad also made headlines when he openly spoke about his son's passing and the days leading up to his death. Mzee Cheruiyot said at the time that his relationship with the late marathoner was solid, and Kiptum had promised to bring home more medals in subsequent races after his heroics at the Chicago marathon.
While calling on investigations on the late athlete's death in February, Cheruiyot also alleged four people who refused to identify themselves visited the homestead in search of the late marathoner.
Kiptum's legacy: Kiptum put Kenya on the world map after running a marathon at 2:00:35 in October 2023. No one has been able to beat his record to date.
In his short athletics career, the late marathoner made millions from just three races. Kiptum took part in the Valencia, London, and more famously, the Chicago marathons. These races brought him over Ksh67 million, excluding sponsorships.
Many athletics fans had tipped him to take over from marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge, who has himself also faced unwarranted backlash since Kiptum's passing.
