Police interrogate four strangers who visited Kelvin Kiptum's home before his death

Four men questioned in connection to Word Marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum's death have been released, Elgeyo Marakwet police boss Joshua Cheptoo has said.

The four were arrested on Wednesday. They had allegedly visited Kiptum's father just days before he died in a road accident.

The four who are yet to be named were questioned by detectives to establish the nature and reason for their visit, which has raised eyebrows among members of the family with his father questioning their motive.

Keiyo South Sub-County Commander Abdullahi Dahir confirmed that the men were held at Kaptagat police station before they were handed over to the county criminal investigations officer for further interrogations.

"They are Kenyans and they come from Uasin Gishu County. Today, we went back to the home of the deceased to retrieve the allegation made by his father because that is where we want to start our investigation," he said.

Speaking hours after his son's death, Samson Cheruiyot appealed to the government to probe the death, saying the four suspects had visited the home in search of him.

He said when he asked the four to identify themselves, they refused.

"I asked them to provide identification, but they opted to leave," he told journalists.

Kiptum, 24, died alongside his Rwandan coach Gervais Hakizimana on Sunday night along the Elgeyo Marakwet-Ravine road in the Kaptagat area of Elgeyo Marakwet.

He will be buried on Saturday next week at his home in Chepkorio.

The athlete left behind a widow and two children.

Kiptum was due to start his season at the Rotterdam Marathon in April this year, aiming to break the two-hour barrier for the marathon after breaking the world record of 2:00:35 in Chicago last year, beating great marathoner Eliud Kipchoge's record by 34 seconds.

In reaction to Kiptum's win at the time, Kipchoge said the great performance hadn't shocked him.

"I was not surprised about (Kiptum) breaking the world record. I was happy to see the record being broken because I have shown them the way," Kipchoge told journalists in Oviedo, Asturias.

Kiptum and Kipchoge's fans were looking forward to watching the two compete for gold in the Paris marathon later this year.