Moses Tanui Injured, David Lelei killed in auto accident

As reported on the World Track website, Moses Tanui and David Lelei were involved in an auto accident in Nairobi, Kenya. Tanui sustained leg and chest injuries and Lelei lost his life.

Tanui, 44 years old, won the 10k world championships in 1991. He was also the first person to run a half marathon in under 60 minutes (59:47.) He went on to win two Boston Marathons in 1996 and 1998. He’s since retired from the racing scene and currently operates a training camp in Kaptagat, Kenya.

Lelie, 38 years old and a 1500m silver medallist at the 1999 Pan African games in Johannesburg, the same year as he finished seventh over the same distance at the world championships in Seville. He was fourth in the 800m at the 2001 World Indoor Championships in Lisbon.

Lelei was an official of Athletics Kenya and was an active coach.

The two athletes were driving from Nairobi to their homes in Eldoret on Wednesday when they hit an oncoming lorry a few kilometers outside Nakuru, Kenya’s fourth biggest town some 200km west of Nairobi. “They had attended a function in Nairobi and they were travelling back to Eldoret when this accident occurred. Unfortunately, we lost Lelei, but Tanui is out of danger and was transferred to Nairobi Hospital,” Tergat told Reuters in Nakuru.