Athletics Kenya (AK) have cancelled the African Games Trials earlier slated for this weekend in honour of Kelvin Kiptum.
Kiptum passed away on Sunday in a road accident alongside his coach, Rwandese Gervais Hakizimana.
In a statement, AK stated that the event was cancelled in honour of the late World Marathon record-holder
“AK wishes to inform all athletes and the entire athletics fraternity that the trials for the African Games earlier scheduled for February 16 and 17 at the Nyayo National Stadium have been shelved in honour of the late Kelvin Kiptum,” the statement read.
AK promised to announce the new dates for the trials soon. “The selection process for the team that will represent the country will be announced in due course,” the statement said.
The African Games will take place from March 18-22 in Accra, Ghana. The late Kiptum is the current world marathon record holder with a time of 2:00:35. He is also the first person in history to run a marathon in under two hours and one minute.
He was scheduled to take part in the NN Rotterdam Marathon, Netherlands on April 13, where he had his sights set on running the marathon in under two hours.