My understanding is that Kiptum was wearing a seat belt and it somehow ripped. A number of papers reported that: "Kiptum was lying under the car with his seat belt ripped and he was already dead..."
If there's any conspiracy I think it would be related to claiming he was wearing a seat belt even if he was not.
Protect the reputation
If the seat belt ripped then the family won't have to worry about money. They can sue Toyota.
Seems far fetched for Kipchoge to have been involved directly, but it's more than plausible for him to be connected to this cartel, whether voluntarily or through extortion, as he's the richest athlete in Kenya. Maybe the mob was seeking a similar arrangement with Kiptum and he rebuffed them.
Between the four strange men, the front of the car being undamaged, the Facebook posts, and the shady Chinese company, it seems more likely than not that there's more than meets the eye to this story. I hope we learn more, but I don't think the Kenyan police are going to be very helpful.
For me, it looks as if Kiptum ( and his coach) were "running" away from some people! Maybe they received threats? Their phones, if available needs to be checked. From his world record getting ratified then two days or one day later, strangers show up looking for him. And now he is dead together with his coach. This was simply a planned elimination. By who? We don't know. The first suspect is the shady Chinese company( most likely the one currently sponsoring Kenenisa Bekele) or other shady group. Was there an agreement that they Kiptum pays them X amount of dollars once the world record is ratified? Or maybe some doping drugs was involved and it was agreed they get paid once the world record gets ratified? One thing is sure though, that Kipchoge had nothing to do with Kiptum's demise. He is a very easy scapegoat due to what some thought that he was not happy Kiptum took the world record from him. Of course he was disappointed( like anyone would) to lose the record and may have thought, like many did, that Kiptum was doping and would get got sooner or later. This way of thinking is understandable considering the doping problem in Kenya and the fact that Kiptum came out of nowhere and began running times that even Kipchoge himself ( the GOAT) could not run in his first 6 years of marathon running. And then he runs faster with every race. Anyone in Kipchoge's shoes would be shocked. Let's hope somehow we get the answers to the many questions we all have.
We may know more when the woman passenger who survived speaks up. Maybe a blind corner, Maybe his phone went off and he took his eyes off of the road, Maybe an animal runs accross the road. The possibilities are endless
Seems far fetched for Kipchoge to have been involved directly, but it's more than plausible for him to be connected to this cartel, whether voluntarily or through extortion, as he's the richest athlete in Kenya. Maybe the mob was seeking a similar arrangement with Kiptum and he rebuffed them.
Between the four strange men, the front of the car being undamaged, the Facebook posts, and the shady Chinese company, it seems more likely than not that there's more than meets the eye to this story. I hope we learn more, but I don't think the Kenyan police are going to be very helpful.
For me, it looks as if Kiptum ( and his coach) were "running" away from some people! Maybe they received threats? Their phones, if available needs to be checked. From his world record getting ratified then two days or one day later, strangers show up looking for him. And now he is dead together with his coach. This was simply a planned elimination. By who? We don't know. The first suspect is the shady Chinese company( most likely the one currently sponsoring Kenenisa Bekele) or other shady group. Was there an agreement that they Kiptum pays them X amount of dollars once the world record is ratified? Or maybe some doping drugs was involved and it was agreed they get paid once the world record gets ratified? One thing is sure though, that Kipchoge had nothing to do with Kiptum's demise. He is a very easy scapegoat due to what some thought that he was not happy Kiptum took the world record from him. Of course he was disappointed( like anyone would) to lose the record and may have thought, like many did, that Kiptum was doping and would get got sooner or later. This way of thinking is understandable considering the doping problem in Kenya and the fact that Kiptum came out of nowhere and began running times that even Kipchoge himself ( the GOAT) could not run in his first 6 years of marathon running. And then he runs faster with every race. Anyone in Kipchoge's shoes would be shocked. Let's hope somehow we get the answers to the many questions we all have.
Boy you are playing Danny Reagan on this one aren't you? Let the investigation play out
The fact is that Kenya in 2013, the last data indicated in this wiki page, had a road fatality rate 40 times as great per 100,000 automobiles than the United States (640 vs. 16 deaths/100,000 cars). I have no doubt that it is much worse in Kenya now because there are a lot more vehicles there. I have witnessed how in many African countries there will be, because of the shortage of vehicles, many passengers crowded together in mini-vans/mini-buses and in the backs of pickup trucks (where I hitched on many occasions in East Africa), so they do not do well in accidents, and the roads are often narrow. Along the major highway in Mali leading out of Bamako, for instance, the tarmac was not wide enough to two buses to pass each other, so that each had to move half off the road to pass safely. The sides of the road are littered with burnt out husks of buses and other vehicles.
Finally someone with a level head. It is likely it was just a freak accident but also there are so many motives why he might be murdered. They should listen to his father and do a proper investigation. It is doubtful but maybe the company who sponsored Kiptum will put $ to have a private investigation done?
This post was edited 3 minutes after it was posted.
Good point. After reading Gault’s tribute article, it seems there’s a lot we don’t know about Kiptum: the shoe company thing, his true age, why he claimed to not have a coach when he actually did, who those shady people are that this father mentioned, the circumstances of his death, etc. I hope Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel investigates this.
It’s actually really puzzling to me that we knew so little about Kiptum. Like, less than your average East African phenom. And what we did know, seemed to have some controversy/mystery to it. There are so many possibilities for what could have been foul play, if indeed there was foul play.
I tend to agree with other posters here, that despite the higher level of auto-related fatalities, it seems a little suspicious that an athlete who seemed destined to become perhaps the most well-known and wealthy in history, suddenly dies before he’s able to do so. If any of the assertions in the TikTok video are verifiable, I would begin to feel fairly confident that something foul happened here.
Just the fact that he was their only child increases the devastation factor tenfold. I don't suppose we know enough about the "strange people" just yet to judge what went down. but could be very interesting to see what comes out in the days ahead.
Why, oh why, does everything have to turn into a conspiracy theory? There's not a day that goes by that every person on this forum doesn't have someone give them a bad eye.
Yes, the car could be hit from rear according to the car photos. On the other side, this passenger woman was on rear seat. And her injuries was not so serious.
Just because you have a right to do something doesn't mean its right to do something.
Justice rarely gets served when people stay silent. Justice more often gets served when people share information, ask questions, and demand answers. Kiptum’s own father has called for an investigation. The least we can do is amplify that call and raise awareness of the suspicious nature of Kiptum’s death.
Just because you have a right to do something doesn't mean its right to do something.
Justice rarely gets served when people stay silent. Justice more often gets served when people share information, ask questions, and demand answers. Kiptum’s own father has called for an investigation. The least we can do is amplify that call and raise awareness of the suspicious nature of Kiptum’s death.
The ONLY reason you care is because he was the world’s fastest marathoner. You should travel to Kenya if you really care as much as you appear to. Is every car accident suspicious? Or is it only the ones where you are struggling to accept reality?