Shock as Moses Tanui's son dies in Canada

The family of two-time Boston Marathon champion Moses Tanui has been thrown into mourning after his son passed away in Ontario, Canada on Wednesday evening. 

Job Kiptoo, who was a student at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Canada where he has been for the last two years fell ill and collapsed before being rushed to the hospital where he passed on. 

According to his uncle Silas Tanui, Kiptoo was feeling unwell and informed his landlord that he wasn’t feeling well. He was then rushed to hospital but unfortunately he passed on along the way. 

“It’s sad that we have lost a young vibrant hardworking man who had a bright future and we pray that God may give us strength even as we plan on how to repatriate his body for the final rights back in Kenya.

“A postmortem shall be conducted so that we can know what happened to him but for now as a family we are mourning a great man,” said Silas.

Kiptoo was the third born son to Tanui and his death has been reported to the Kenya High Commission in Canada. 

Burial arrangements are ongoing and will be communicated in due course as they await the postmortem results. 

Tributes poured in for Tanui's family with many urging them to be strong during this difficult period.

Tanui is also the Eldoret City Marathon director, an event held annually in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County. 

Tanui rose to the limelight when he bagged the 10,000m title at the Tokyo World Championships in 1991 and silver medal at the Antwerp World Cross Country Championships the same year.

In 1993, he won silver medal in the 10,000m race at Stuttgart in Germany before shifting to marathon races in 1996 where he won the Boston Marathon title before reclaiming it in 1998.

He would later finish second at the Chicago Marathon in 1999 and third in the same race in 2000. 

[email protected]