Abraham Tadesse dedicates win to Kelvin Kiptum.

The recently honoured champion of the Barcelona Marathon, Abraham Tadesse, has unveiled his heartfelt rationale for dedicating his triumphant victory to the late Kelvin Kiptum.

The 41-year-old expressed that throughout his lifetime, he has yet to observe a runner paralleling the prowess of Kelvin Kiptum. This late athlete astoundingly clinched victories in all three marathons he participated in, characterised by remarkable timings.

He noted that the fallen hero’s death affected him and that the late Kiptum, the world marathon record holder, will forever be in his heart.

Kiptum, the Chicago and London Marathon champion, was in the company of his coach Gervais Hakizimana and was killed in a road accident near Eldoret town.

In an interview with USA News, the Swiss said: “I have never seen a better marathon runner than Kiptum.

“I have never seen an athlete compete in three marathons, win all three and go under 2:02:00 in all of them, and even break the world record.

“I carry Kiptum in my heart. That episode affected me deeply. On that day I was in Kenya, focused. I attended his funeral, I think about him a lot. I thought a lot about him Kiptum, He motivated me a lot today as I ran and this win is his win.”

After reaching the 30km mark, Tadesse took the lead in the race and continued by himself, completing the rest of the distance solo. He finished the race in an impressive time of 2 hours, 5 minutes, and 1 second, breaking the previous record set by Bahrain’s Marius Kimutai last year, which was 2 hours, 5 minutes, and 6 seconds.

For more news updates, tune in to NRG Radio or download the NRG Play App on your phone