World Athletics said Kiptum has not raced since, but he was scheduled to compete at the Rotterdam Marathon in April, where he was hoping to become the first person to break two hours for the marathon on a record-eligible course.
Kiptum won in his debut in Valencia in 2022 and again at the London Marathon in April last year.
Hakizimana, who is from Rwanda, was a runner who trained for years in Kenya, where he met Kiptum in the youth village of Chepkorio.
Ten years ago, barely a teenager, Kiptum herded goats and sheep and then began following Hakizimana and other runners during training.
By 2019, Kiptom ran two half-marathons in two weeks, running 60:48 in Copenhagen and 59:53 in Belfort, France, and began training with Hakizimana, who had stayed in Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic. she came.