Kenyan athlete Charles Kipsang Kipkorir died on Saturday, February 24th, 2024 in Buea, Cameroon after winning a mountain running race.
“A Kenyan runner died of a suspected heart attack after collapsing at the finish of Saturday’s Mount Cameroon mountain race, Africa’s oldest international athletic competition, according to officials,” says Xinhua.
It is reported that the 33-year-old athlete managed to cross the finish line but later collapsed after collecting his prize.
Efforts were made and Kipsang was rushed to the hospital where he died a few minutes later.
The race, dubbed Race of Hope, is of a particularly difficult terrain, with athletes going up and down the mountain, which is over 4,100 meters above sea level.
Bernard Okalai Bilia, Governor of the Southwest region where the race took place said that Kipsang was leading the race but suffered a malaise that forced him to briefly stop minutes to the finish line.
However, Governor Billia said they could not reveal exactly what happened to Kipsang as he appeared fine after the race.
“We might believe that it is something like heart attack,” Bilia told reporters Saturday
“It is a very sad situation because he was at his fourth participation. It is a great loss for the African athletic federation, for his country Kenya, and for us Cameroon,” he added.
The race attracted over 600 runners from Congo, Ethiopia, France, Kenya, Lebanon, Morocco, Tanzania, Chad, Tunisia and Cameroon where 19 Kenyans took part.
This was Kipsang’s fourth time to participate in the Race of Hope, taking part in the senior men’s category.
The government of Kenya is yet to give an official statement on the matter.
