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I was so excited about the story I was going to share with you this morning. A year or so ago I had heard about a guy who had broken the world record in the 26.2-mile marathon in London with a time of 2 hours, one minute and 25 seconds.
Beyond blazing fast. That’s not incredible. It’s far more stunning than whatever incredible is.
The pain this 24-year-old guy from Kenya felt, named Kelvin Kiptum, must have been non-stop agony or maybe he just didn’t hurt as much as the rest of us sprinting 26.2 miles. I researched more about him this morning and found out that last year he broke his own record with a time of 2:00:25 at the Chicago Marathon.
The fastest times are usually in the 2:08 range, so for some guy to almost be breaking two hours elevated him right there with achieving athletic achievements at the absolute highest levels like Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak; Katie Ledecky having the 10 or more fastest times in the 1500 meter freestyle; Dan Gabol going 154 and 0 as a wrestler at University of Iowa; and Wayne Gretsky winning the NHL MVP his first eight seasons in the league.
Kiptum’s times meant he averaged 4:36 per mile. I wanted to get you intrigued that this guy may finish the Paris Olympics Marathon in under two hours and wouldn’t that be beyond comprehension, nonsensical, brilliant – probably the most unforgettable moment of all the unforgettable moments we’re going to experience at this summer’s Games?
He would be the threat to beat his Kenyan rival, Eliud Kipchoge, who has won the last two Olympic Marathons and would be the first to win three – if he could tolerate more pain than Kiptum. A tough ask given Kiptum’s two world records leading up to the Games.
I wanted to tell you all about this.
But I can’t. Because I found out this morning that Kiptum died in a car accident in February of this year.
Reminds me of when Len Bias died in 1986 at the peak of his superstardom at 22 years old. All that talent no longer to be shared with all of us.
About the tragic endings of both men’s lives, one question will always persist: why? One answer will keep coming back: we’ll never know.
I thought this would be an inspiring story about a superhuman athlete going for an under-two-hour Olympic Marathon. Instead, it’s a reminder to us that people die suddenly no matter how great they are, no matter where they live, and there’s nothing we can do but feel sad and wish it hadn’t happened.
To me, the Olympic Marathon is the most emotional of all the countless riveting Olympic events because of the time the athletes spend hurting.
Hours.
How do they do it? I’ll never understand that kind of mental and physical toughness.
What makes the Olympic Marathon extra special is its ironclad tradition. It’s always – and appropriately – the last event of the Olympic Games. The athletes run through the stadium tunnel, do a loop around the track, and often fall to the ground. A life of running distilled to uncontrollable emotional outbursts on a stadium track. Completely spent.
A short time later the closing ceremonies begin. As the runners enter the tunnel and emerge from it to the roar of the crowd I’ll be thinking of what we could have seen, Kelvin Kiptum, leading the race, astounding the world, being the first human being to run 26.2 miles in under two hours.
Coming through that shadowy tunnel and into the brightness and noise of the stadium feels like a metaphor for life. We go through the tough times and come out the other end and everything feels brighter and we finish.
Somehow.
I wish we could have seen Kiptum come through that tunnel to make all-time human being historic heights.
So sorry that’s not going to happen.
May he feel the bright lights and our cheers in whatever stadium he is in now.
And feel no pain ever again.
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Sammy Sportface, a sports blogger, galvanizes, inspires, and amuses The Baby Boomer Brotherhood. And you can learn about his vision and join this group's Facebook page here:
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