MARATHON ICONIC KELVIN KIPTUM IS TO BE LAID TO REST TODAY.

Following his death in an automobile accident, Kenya's 24-year-old world marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum will be laid to rest on Friday in the country's athletics epicenter.

At the burial in the Rift Valley, where Kiptum was born, trained, and died, mourners are anticipated to include Sebastian Coe, the head of World Athletics, and President William Ruto.

Only a few months after shocking the athletics world by smashing the marathon record in Chicago in October, the father of two lost control of his vehicle and struck a tree on February 11.

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 He completed the course in two hours and 35 seconds, shaving 34 seconds off the record set by the renowned Kenyan marathoner Eliud Kipchoge.

 Kiptum only participated in three marathons, but he won each one and set three of the top seven times for the distance.

 Kenya and the larger athletics community are in shock over his unexpected passing.

 In his hometown of Chepkorio, western Kenya, hundreds gathered on Thursday to honor the budding star, who was the clear favorite to win the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

 Fans and sportsmen gathered along the highways while Kiptum's casket was being moved in a hearse to Iten, the fabled high-altitude training area in the Rift Valley, spectators and athletes lined the streets, some silently and others hymn-singing.

 Thursday marked Coe's arrival in Eldoret. He expressed his grief over "an extraordinary young life" that was cut short before his prime.

 "Kevin made incredible accomplishments. He remarked, "It's virtually unprecedented that he should have reached such heights at such a young age.

 . Nairobi candlelit vigil -

 Hundreds of people showed up for a somber candlelight vigil on the eve of the funeral in Nairobi, the capital of the country.

 The government is constructing a new home for the family of the national hero at Naiberi, which is close to Eldoret in the Rift Valley in western Kenya. Kiptum will be laid to rest there.

 Strong winds on Thursday caused damage to property at the Chepsamo location, thus the funeral service for Kiptum has been rescheduled to the Chepkorio showgrounds in Keiyo South.

 The media was informed by the organizers that high winds had forced a change in the venue.

 The magnitude of the devastation was visible in many images obtained by Citizen Digital after the tents that had been built were blown off by strong gusts, with some of them crashing into parked automobiles.

 According to the police, on February 11 at approximately 11:00 p.m., Kiptum was traveling close to Eldoret when his vehicle veered off the road, into a ditch, and struck a tree.

 Johansen Oduor, the lead government pathologist for Kenya, announced on Wednesday that Kiptum had sustained serious head injuries based on the postmortem results.

 He noted that toxicology tests were still being conducted.

 In the collision, his 36-year-old Rwandan coach Gervais Hakizimana also perished.

 On Wednesday, Hakizimana, who has been Kiptum's trainer since 2019, was buried in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.

 Kiptum, who is well-known for sticking to an intense training regimen that occasionally exceeded 300 kilometers (190 miles) a week, recently declared his intention to break the fabled two-hour mark at the Rotterdam Marathon in April.