Kelvin Kiptum on Sunday flew the Kenyan flag high after breaking the Kipchoge’s world record that he set last year at the Berlin marathon. But what does the 23 year old take home?
Kiptum is the new millionaire in town as he bags 14.9 Million for winning the Chicago Marathon. The official event organiser, Nike will give him an additional Ksh 7.4 Million for breaking the record at the marathon that was held in the US.
Back in June, President William Ruto said that official record breakers in sports events will receive Ksh 5 Million from the state adding Kelvin Kiptum and advantage of getting the sum immediately he lands in the country.
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This therefore totals to Ksh 27.3 Million for Kelvin Kiptum for his exemplary performance on Sunday. The country remains the champion of long distance marathons even after Kiptum taking over from Eliud Kipchoge
Kiptum’s coach, Gervais Hakizimana said that the record breaker didn’t happen by luck. According to him, Kiptum does up to 300 KM a week. To put it into context, Kipchoge runs between 180 Kilometers and 220 Kilometers a week. That shows how Kiptum was really determined.
“During the preparation for London, we spent three weeks at more than 300km. It has a very large volume. He works a lot on endurance. When he’s training, he’s strong.The second month between 280 and 300km per week,” he said. “In the fourth month, we gradually reduce the volume, so that we can rest before the race.”
Although his coach fears that his hard work during training and going beyond limits may affect his career through injuries, he is optimistic that he will endure all this and use the Sunday world recird as a motivation towards achieving more and better in the coming races.
Also read: Kiptum Breaks Kipchoge’s Record