Kumbe! Late Kelvin Kiptum was sponsoring 20 schoolgirls

CBS News correspondent Brook Silva, has eulogised the late Kenyan athlete Kelvin Kiptum who tragically lost his life following a grisly road accident along Eldoret-Kaptagat road 10 days ago.

Speaking highly of the late 24-year-old Marathon runner, Brook Silva revealed that the young man was a humble philanthropist who had dreams of seeing people from his community do and be better.

According to Brook during a previous sit down he had had with Kiptum for his CBS interview, the Kenyan athlete had disclosed that he was at the moment sponsoring about 20 needy female students from Elgeyo Marakwet county to pursue their education from the millions of earns he made from his athletic career.

"I met Kiptum when he visited Austin, Texas for a running event this past fall and we were planning to air it when he raced next this coming April. He was such as soft-spoken star," started off Silva speaking of his relation with the late Marathon World record-holder.

He went on to add that while speaking with Kiptum, the young man had casually revealed how he was giving back to his community in Chepkorio village.

"Running had already taken him far out of Chepkorio. He made a good living and used some of it to help 20 local girls start attending secondary schools.

And after that marathon, his dad agreed running was the right choice for him," Silva said while speaking of the late Kiptum.

The American reporter while finishing up revealed that Kiptum had revealed that his father had at first wanted his son to study and become an electrician.

Kiptum however did not feel like school was for him so he started skipping school and training without his parent's knowledge.

At just 15 years old he already knew that he really wanted to be an athlete.

"His main goal he told us was to compete in the Olympics this summer, running the world's first official sub 2-hour marathon and he was so close to actualising this.

He was having the next race in April, then the terrible news, just when his career was taking off," Brook added as he shared a video from their encounter where he had tried racing Kiptum and the stories they shared.

Kiptum lost his life alongside his Rwandese coach Gervais Hakizimana, in the late evening of Sunday, February 11 near Kaptagat Forest.

He will be laid to rest today at his farm in Naiberi, Uasin Gishu County after a requiem mass that will be delivered at Kapkenda Girls Field.

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