On Sunday, December 4, Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum stunned the world on his debut to become the third fastest athlete in the history of marathon running.
The 23-year-old ran an incredible race to win the 2022 Valencia Marathon in 02:01.53, 44 seconds slower than the current world record of 02:01.09 set by his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge two months ago.
He was followed by Tanzania's Gabriel Geay and fellow countryman Alexander Mutiso who clocked 2:03.00 and 2:03.09 respectively.
Also Read: Kenyan Athlete Breaks Eliud Kipchoge's Record
So far, only Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele have clocked faster times than Kiptum over the distance.
Bekele clocked 02:01.41 in 2019 to clinch the BMW Berlin Marathon title.
Besides Kipchoge and Bekele, no other human being has completed a marathon race in under 2:02:00.
Kiptum was in control for the bigger part of the road race, exchanging the lead with pre-race favorite Tamirot Tola of Ethiopia and Gabriel from time to time.
However, when they reached the 30km mark, Kiptum switched gears and went on to win the race.
In the women’s category, Ethiopian athlete Amane Beriso emerged the winner in an impressive time of 2:14.58, missing Brigid Kosgei’s record by less than a minute.
Debutant Letensebet Gidey, who holds four world records, settled for a second place position in 2:16.49.
Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui timed 2:17.29 to finish third ahead of Ethiopia’s Tadu Teshome.
Also Read: 5 Kenyan Athletes Who Currently Hold World Records