Nairobi — An upcoming international athlete collapsed and died on a street in Kapsabet during a routine morning training session.

The athlete, Weldon Kerich Cheruiyot, 30, a marathon runner and a member of Jubilee Athletics Club in Kapsabet, was training alongside fellow athletes when he suddenly collapsed along a street near the Kapsabet High Courts. Witnesses said he appeared to experience difficulty breathing moments before collapsing.

"We were training up the hill and Weldon was breathing heavily and asked him why are you breathing so heavily, why don't you take a rest. He said no, I am usually like that, I have no issue. When he continued for 100 metres, he collapsed and started kicking that's when we rushed him to hospital,"his colleague narrated.

Despite immediate efforts by fellow runners and passersby to assist him, Cheruiyot was rushed to the county referral hospital, where he was later confirmed dead.

County government officials said arrangements were being made to support the transfer of his body from Kapsabet to Longisa Mortuary, which is near his home, as the family prepares for burial arrangements.