Kiptum would have made Paris Olympic men’s marathon dream line-up complete

A lot has been said about Kelvin Kiptum, perhaps the greatest marathon runner of all time, who passed away on February 11 at just 24 years old.

There have been moving tributes of how the world record holder was such a humble man, possessed of a kind, gentle, and caring spirit.

How, even as he built his promising career, he found time to help many fledgling talents financially and materially.
How he was, really, human, enjoying a game of pool at a local entertainment centre and buying rounds of soft drinks for friends.

Taking pleasure in watching live televised football with his chums. His habit of passing by the local shop to purchase a packet of milk. Indeed, a down-to-earth soul that soared to the stars.

As the world comes to terms with the shock of losing one of the greatest prospects in athletics I can only ruefully reflect on what may have been in Paris this summer had the lad from Chepkorio continued to be granted the gift of life by the Almighty.

Sport is a spectacle. We talk about the drama, the play that changed the game, the magical move that won the match, the major achievement, the historic feat, the players and their efforts. It is indeed the players, the stars, that make sports so beautiful to write about.

Fifa considers the 1970 World Cup-winning squad of Brazil as the greatest national team in history. Made up of the king of football Pele and the likes of Tostao, Rivellino, Jairzinho, and Carlos Alberto the team had no comparison then and now.

In a Fifa video about the team, renowned coach Arsene Wenger narrates thus: “In all their spellbinding technical aplomb, individual artists, creating a masterpiece that teams could be compared to for the next 50 years.”

What of the original USA national basketball team aptly named the "Dream Team" that competed in the 1992 Olympic Games? It was the first American team to feature NBA professional players at the peak of their power.

The team has often been described as the greatest sports team ever assembled, by Americans I suppose.
It was made up of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen (Chicago Bulls), John Stockton and Karl Malone (Utah Jazz), Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers), Larry Bird (Boston Celtics), Patrick Ewing (New York Knicks), Chris Mullin (Golden State Warriors), David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs), Charles Barkley (Philadelphia 76ers) and Clyde Drexler (Portland Trail Blazers).

That Dream Team crushed opponents by an average of 44 points en route to the gold medal.

Now, the 100m is considered the blue riband race of the Olympic Games. But there is one other race, steeped in mythology, that has also captured the imagination of athletics and indeed sports lovers: the marathon.

So revered is this 42km race that epitomizes the true essence of the Olympic Games – higher, faster, stronger, it has traditionally been held on the last day of the Games.

This year’s Olympics men’s race would have featured a truly dream start list, easily featuring the best marathon runners in history.

Kenya had already selected a provisional squad. Expected to make the final cut were Kiptum, with a personal best (PB) of 2:00:35, and former world record holder and twice Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge (PB 2:01:09). The pair shared between them eight of the 10 fastest marathon times in history.

Evans Chebet, and Amos Kipruto, all 2hr 3min runners, were also looking in on Paris action.

Long-distance running powerhouse Ethiopia have not announced their marathon team yet, but the third fastest man in history Kenenisa Bekele (PB 2:01:4) hand indicated his interest in competing.

Add other probables, recent Valencia Marathon winner and fourth fastest man in history, Sisay Lemma (PB 2:01:48), Tamirat Tola (PB 2:03:39) Birhanu Legese (PB 2:03:16) and Leul Gebresilasie (PB 2:04:02) and you appreciate this line up would be a road racing tinderbox.

To borrow a popular Kenyan expression, “yaani” the list would have the five fastest men in recorded history. Wow! 

I bet the late Samuel Wanjiru’s Olympic record of 2:06:32 set in Beijing 2008 would have become history.

A historic Kenyan clean sweep would have been a distinct possibility, or at the very least an unprecedented one-two finish.

Then there was the conceivable dynamics of the race. The great Kipchoge would be going for a history-setting third (consecutive) men’s marathon title. Would Team Kenya run as a team and set up Kipchoge for history?

Would team tactics let Kiptum scorch to an Olympic record? Would there be a team (road) leader for the Kenyan team? Would the Kenyan camp let the road decide?

Imagine thoroughbred roadrunners Kiptum and Kipchoge going head-to-head at the grandest stage in sports amidst a stacked field fuelled by their Olympic ambitions.

I am almost getting goose pimples just thinking of how the race would have been.

What would Kenyans have rooted for? A Kiptum or Kipchoge win? A win by any Kenyan, as long as they shut out the Ethiopians? A good race?

Without a doubt, this would have been the most followed Olympic Marathon race in history, contested on a route organisers describe as “spectacular and tough”, with a maximum gradient of 13.5 percent.

Pity, that dream line-up will now just be a figment of our imagination. A dream. Forever.

RIP Kelvin Kiptum.

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