Eliud Kipchoge breaks down over Kelvin Kiptum speculation in emotional interview “I lost 90% of my friends”
Eliud Kipchoge says he feared for the lives of his family during a campaign of online abuse that wrongly linked him to the death of marathon runner Kelvin Kiptum
Eliud Kipchoge says he feared for the lives of his family during a campaign of online abuse that wrongly linked him to the death of marathon runner Kelvin Kiptum.
World Record marathoner Eliud Kipchoge broke down into tears as he opened up on a harrowing experience after rumours started flying on social media allegedly linking him to the death of fellow marathoner Kelvin Kiptum.
While speaking during an interview with BBC Sports, Kipchoge claimed he received death threats from users online, something the two-time Olympic gold medalist claimed instilled a lot of fear in him.
Kipchoge recounted receiving several messages including threats targeting his family and even his career.
While recounting the torturous moment at his home in Eldoret, Kipchoge was overwhelmed by emotions and broke down.
“All the social media platforms were claiming, “Eliud was involved in the death of this boy.” I received a lot of bad things,” Eliud revealed.
Among the barrage of attacks directed his way included death threats targeting his family, doing away with his investments, burning down his house, and even shutting down his training camp.
According to Kipchoge, his first reaction upon receiving the gut-wrenching messages was to check on his family.
While narrating the experience, the athlete dismissed the reports linking him to the death of Kiptum. “It did not happen but that is how the world is,” Kipchoge noted.
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“I started to call a lot of people, I got really scared,” Kipchoge narrated.
The two-time Olympic champion revealed he had to suspend several family activities as a safety precaution.
According to Kipchoge, he was also forced to change training venues and even lost about 90 percent of his friends.
“My worst moment came when I called my mom and she told me to take care. But she gave me courage,” the athlete recounted.
“It was really painful to learn that even my own people including my teammates expressed bad words towards me,” he added.
On February 12, world-record marathoner Kelvin Kiptum reportedly died in a road accident along the Eldoret-Kaptagat highway.
The 24-year-old passed on barely two months before attempting to break a world record of becoming the first human to run a marathon race in under two hours.
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