Sleepy Chepsamo village erupts in celebration of Kiptum's victory
London Marathon Champion Kelvin Kiptum’s wife Asenath Rotich (centre), Kiptum’s mother Mary Kangogo second (right), Kiptum’s father Samson Cheruiyot (right), holding Kiptum’s son Caleb Kigen, other relatives and members of the public during celebrations at their home in Chepsamo village in Chepkorio, Elgeyo Marakwet County on April 23, 2023. Geoffrey Kamworor came second while Olympic Marathon Champion Peres Jepchirchir finished third in the women category.
What you need to know:
- Betty Kuremwa the NTV Commercial Manager said that the turnout in Eldoret shows the excitement and passion people have in sports thanking all the partners who came on board to make sure the viewership was a success.
- “As a media house we want to congratulate our athletes and we look forward to more partnership across all sporting activities in the country as a way of supporting and nurturing talents,” said Kurema.
Did you pray for me in the morning when you woke up? That was the conversation Kelvin Kiptum had with his father Samson Cheruiyot on Sunday morning before he went for the start line for the London Marathon race.
And by the end of the race, Small town shopping centre in Chepkorio, Elgeyo Marakwet County came to stand still Sunday as residents took to the streets to celebrate the victory of the newly crowned London Marathon champion.
And about three kilometres from the main road is Chepsamo village home to Kiptum where tens of people gathered to celebrate their son’s performance in London.
Doned in the traditional ornamental plant Sinendet Kalenjins use for celebration, it was song and dance as Kiptum ran a lone race in the last few kilometres which was evident that he was going to win the race.
The 23-year-old, who trains in Chepkorio, clocked 2hrs 1 minute and 25 seconds to win his major marathon debut, surprisingly missing Eliud Kipchog’s record by only 17 seconds.
For the residents of Chepkorio, it’s simply their time to shine, after years of lurking in the shadows of Kaptagat, a neighbouring center, where other world Stars like Eliud Kipchoge and Geoffrey Kamworor train.
Interestingly, Kamworor and Kiptum are village mates, in fact they went to the same primary school and the whole village was celebrating a double victory.
According to his father, Kiptum has always been obedient and hardworking and it has finally paid off after many years of training.
“Kiptum called in the morning and he just asked me if I prayed for him and I answered him that I had already done that. He said that now leave the other part for me and indeed we saw him running well and bagged victory. We thank God because he heard our prayers as a family,” said his father.
He added that Kiptum has been dreaming to become a police officer and serve his country and the right time has come.
“We saw other athletes being mentioned in the media and Kiptum was not known but I thank God he made my son famous in his second marathon. Before he travelled, he came home and asked for me to pray and he finally triumphed,” he said.
His wife Asenath Rotich said that her husband has been working hard and winning one of the prestigious races is a good reward.
“I have been supporting him during his training and before he went for the race on Sunday morning, he called me and said that we trust him he will run an impressive race,” said the wife.
Monica Rotich County Executive Committee in charge of Public Service and ICT in Elgeyo Marakwet County said that there is need to put more efforts on developing track for athletes because they have shown good progress despite struggling in training.
“We need to think about our athletes and develop sports and the community should also come out during public participation so that the county government can also allocate some money to the sports department to improve infrastructures.
“Elgeyo Marakwet County governor loves sports and has been on the forefront to work with other stakeholders to make sure athletes have good training facilities,” said Rotich.
In Eldoret town, business came to a standstill as many athletics fans braved the chilly weather and followed the race live from the Uasin Gishu County big screen in an event organised by Nation Media Group.
Invited guests who include Athletics Kenya President Jack Tuwei, AK Central Rift chairman Abraham Mutai, athletics legend Kipchoge Keino, former London Marathon winners Felix Limo (2006) and Mary Keitany (2017) and the 2022 Seoul Marathon champion Joan Chelimo followed the action from Uganda road.
Betty Kuremwa the NTV Commercial Manager said that the turnout in Eldoret shows the excitement and passion people have in sports thanking all the partners who came on board to make sure the viewership was a success.
“As a media house we want to congratulate our athletes and we look forward to more partnership across all sporting activities in the country as a way of supporting and nurturing talents,” said Kurema.
