Former 10,000-meter world champion Moses Tanui was injured and former world championship runner David Lelei killed in an auto accident on the outskirts of the Kenyan capital, the Daily Nation newspaper reported Wednesday.
Tanui sustained serious leg and chest injuries and was rushed to Nairobi Hospital, where the newspaper described his condition as being “out of danger.”
The 44-year-old Tanui won the 10,000 at the 1991 world championships in Tokyo and silver in 1993, narrowly losing to Haile Gebrselassie.
He was the first athlete to run a half marathon in under 60 minutes — finishing in 59 minutes, 47 minutes at Milan in ’93. He is also a former Boston Marathon winner.
The 38-year-old Lelei was a finalist in the 1,500 at the 1999 world championships in Seville, Spain, and in the 800 at the world indoors at Lisbon, Portugal, in 2001.
“It is too early to speculate the cause of the accident because this area is a known black spot and has claimed lives of several people,” Nakuru Police commander Johnstone Ipara told the newspaper.
Lelei was an official of Athletics Kenya and was an active coach.
