David Chelule

David Chelule was a Kenyan long distance runner who represented his country on the world stage during the late 1990s and 2000s, competing across the 5000 metres, 10,000 metres and half marathon before becoming one of Kenya's recognised road racing specialists. He died on 6 November 2026 at the age of 49.

Chelule rose through Kenya's deep pool of distance running talent, winning the world junior cross country title in 1996 and going on to set personal bests of 12:57.79 in the 5000 metres and 27:32.18 in the 10,000 metres, both recorded in the late 1990s. He later shifted his focus to the roads, where he ran a half marathon best of 1:02:08 in 2000 and built a career as a competitive road racer across Europe, winning events such as the 2000 Torino Nebiolo Day 3000 metres, the 2002 Le Puy en Velay 15 kilometres race, the 2006 Prato Half Marathon and the 2007 Milano 10 kilometres road race. He also became the Kenyan national champion over 10,000 metres in 1999.

His career reached its highest profile point at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, where he competed for Kenya, a country whose depth in distance running made simply reaching an Olympic start line a significant achievement. He mattered to Kenyan athletics as one of the generation of runners who helped cement the nation's reputation as the heartland of middle and long distance running, a reputation that opened doors for the road racing careers of many Kenyan athletes who followed him onto the European circuit.

Athletics Kenya announced on Monday 9 November 2026 that Chelule had died on Friday 6 November 2026. The federation did not disclose where he died or the cause of his death, and as of this writing the cause of death has not been made public. In its statement, the federation described his passing as a major loss to his family, friends, fellow athletes and the wider athletics community, and praised his role in representing Kenya on the international stage.

Tributes followed from within Kenyan athletics circles, with Athletics Kenya extending condolences to his family, friends and former teammates and asking for strength and comfort for the bereaved as they absorbed the news. No funeral or memorial arrangements had been publicly announced at the time of this report.