Kelvin Kiptum's cause of death revealed after marathon world record holder died aged at 24, before police arrested four strangers who visited his home

The cause of Kelvin Kiptum's tragic death has finally been revealed, as police arrest four strangers who visited his house. 

Earlier this month, Kiptum, 24, died in a car accident in his native Kenya, which also killed his Rwandan coach Gervais Hakizimana. 

The Kenyan distance runner's death came just five days after World Athletics ratified his world record time of 2:00.35, which he set when winning the Chicago Marathon.

Kiptum's father Samson Cheruiyot called for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his son's death and now, following a police autopsy, answers have been provided.

According to MARCA, Johansen Oduor - a pathologist for the Government of Kenya - has revealed that Kiptum suffered 'serious head injuries' as well as 'injuries to the lungs'.  

The cause of Kelvin Kiptum's tragic death has finally been revealed after a police investigation 

Kiptum made history last October when he clocked 2:00.35 to win the Chicago Marathon

'The deceased Kelvin suffered serious head injuries. There were serious skull fractures that occurred mainly at the base of the skull,' the doctor explained. 

He also claimed that 'there were some fractures in the ribs on both sides'. 

'There were also injuries to the lungs. What really caused Kelvin's death were severe head injuries that, when I look at them, look more like they were caused by a car accident,' the doctor noted.

Oduor added that samples were taken for additional analysis because the circumstances of the death are being investigated. 

'The samples - he pointed out - will undergo a complete toxicological analysis so that we can see if there was anything that could have contributed to his death'.

Kiptum's family responded to the autopsy, to which they said: 'We are satisfied with the results. I witnessed the entire process. 

'We are now waiting for the samples that they said will be taken for analysis,' said Philip Kiplagat, a spokesman for Kiptum's family.

According to The Mirror, police have also arrested four people who visited Kiptum's house just four days before he died.

Kiptum (left) and coach Gervais Hakizimana (right) died in a road accident in Kenya's Kaptagat

Kiptum's father called for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his son's death, claiming a group of unidentified men had come looking for the athlete not long before the horror car crash

The crashed car that Marathon world record-holder Kiptum was driving sits in front of the Police Station in Kaptagat, Kenya, 12 February 2024 

Reports claim that police in Kenya made the arrests in the days after Kiptum's father Samson Cheruiyot highlighted a visit by four strangers.

Cheruiyot had called on police to thoroughly investigate what happened to his son, prior to the autopsy results.

Kiptum made history in October when he clocked 2:00.35 to win the Chicago Marathon, smashing his fellow Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge's world record by 34 seconds. His landmark time was only officially ratified by World Athletics last Tuesday.

His coach, Rwanda's Gervais Hakizimana, was also killed in the road accident near Kaptagat, an area in the south-west of the country renowned as a training base for distance runners.

Details of the crash have revealed that a female passenger, Sharon Chepkemoi, 32, survived the incident after being taken to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret. 

Earlier this month, mourners gathered to pay their respects to Kiptum following his death

According to Kenneth Kimaiyo - one of the first responders at the crash site - via Nation, Kiptum's body was found under the vehicle with the runner already dead.

He said he saw a man on a motorbike helping Chepkemoi at the scene, who was screaming for help and taken to Sanvanis Dispensary before being transferred to MTRH.

The newspaper adds that Kiptum lost control of his vehicle at Kaptagat area along the Eldama Ravine-Eldoret on his way back from Eldoret in Uasin Gishu County. 

Jackson Tuwei, President of Athletics Kenya, said the vehicle veered off the road into a ditch before hitting a big tree 60 metres from the main road.