By Lauryne Akoth
Two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge has revealed the impact of the online abuse he faced following the late world Marathon Record holder Kelvin Kiptum’s Death.
Kelvin Kiptum, who died tragically in a car accident on 11th February alongside his coach Gervais Hakizimana was scheduled to compete with Kiptum where the latter had planned to be the first person to complete a marathon in under two hours.
Marathon World Record Holder Kelvin Kiptum Dies In Grisly Car Crash
Speculation emerged among certain social media users suggesting that Kipchoge might have been involved in a plot to harm Kiptum, who achieved a world-best time of two hours and 35 seconds last October in Chicago, breaking Kipchoge’s world record.
During an interview with BBC Sports Africa, an emotional Kipchoge noted that the allegations of his involvement in Kiptum’s death made him lose trust in people.
” What happened has made me not to trust anybody, not even my own shadow,” he said.
“I was shocked that people on social media platforms are saying ‘Eliud is involved in the death of this boy’,” the 39-year-old told BBC Sport Africa.
“That was my worst news ever in my life. I received a lot of bad things; that they will burn the training camp, they will burn my investments in town, they will burn my house, they will burn my family. It did not happen but that is how the world is,” he divulged.
Upon witnessing the abuse and unfounded rumors, Kipchoge mentioned that his immediate response was to ensure the safety of his family.
“I don’t have the power to go to the police and tell them my life is in danger. So my concern was actually to tell my family to be extra conscious and cautious,” he said.
“I started to call a lot of people to see if they were okay but my worst moment was when I called my mum,” he noted.
He revealed that the abuse affected his performance in this year’s Tokyo Marathon. He came in tenth, his worst finish.
“I got really scared of my children going to school and coming back. Sometimes they bike around, but we had to stop them because you never know what will happen. We started to drop them off and pick them up in the evening,” he said.
“My girl was in boarding school – that was positive that she had no access as far as social media is concerned – but it’s tough for my boys to hear ‘Your dad has killed somebody’,” he said.
However, he noted that he has his eyes set on this year’s Paris Olympics where he aims to become the first man to win three consecutive marathon titles.
” The motivation comes from making history, I want to be in the history books,” said Kipchoge.