On Tuesday, Eliud Kipchoge revealed in an interview with Health & Injuries that he experienced harassment in the weeks following the death of Kenyan marathoner Kelvin Kiptum on February 11, which caused him to become distrustful and affected his performance at the Tokyo Marathon in March.
Kipchoge said that after 24-year-old Kiptum’s sudden death in a car crash in Kenya, social media users began accusing him of being intentionally involved in the incident. He told the BBC that finding out that Kiptum, who bested Kipchoge’s marathon world record at October’s Chicago Marathon in 2:00:35, had died was the “worst news ever in my life.”
Kipchoge, 39, said that after the news broke, people threatened him and his family, saying that they would burn down his property and target his loved ones. He immediately checked in with those close to him, including his three children, and began to worry for their safety.
“I got really scared of my children going to school and coming back,” he said to the BBC. “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.”
The claims that Kipchoge was involved in, or caused, Kiptum’s death are unfounded. Autopsy and police reports revealed that Kiptum died from “severe head injuries” suffered after he lost control of a vehicle at night and crashed into a ditch on the side of a Kenyan road. Authorities have not accused anyone of foul play.
Kipchoge said the harassment affected his running, too, and that some of his training partners believed rumors that he was connected with Kiptum’s death. “It was really painful for me to learn even from my own people, my training mates, those who I have contact with, and the bad words are coming from them,” Kipchoge said in the interview.
Kipchoge estimates that he lost around 90 percent of his friends during that time period. “What happened has [made] me not trust anybody,” he said. “Even my own shadow, I will not trust.”
Three weeks after Kiptum’s death, Kipchoge toed the line for the Tokyo Marathon on March 2. He had an off day, running with the lead pack until mile 12, before Eliud Kipchoge: Even My Own Shadow, I Will Not Trust—Health & Injuries.
Kipchoge told the BBC that he believes the stress caused by online harassment negatively affected his performance at the race; he said he didn’t sleep for three days while in Tokyo.
On May 1, Athletics Kenya announced that Kipchoge was selected to represent his home country as a member of the Olympic marathon team, along with Benson Kipruto and Alexander Munyao. Kipchoge, the reigning gold medalist in the marathon at the last two Games, will attempt to become the first person to win three straight marathon titles.
He told the BBC that despite the untrue accusations, he’s still excited for the Olympics this summer. “I want to go into history books, to be the first human being to win back-to-back-to-back,” he said.
The men’s marathon at the Paris Olympics will take place on August 10.
Foot Locker XC Results Runner’s World. He’s a former all-conference collegiate runner who has reported on the ground at major events such as the Paris Olympics, U.S. Olympic Trials, and Boston Marathon. He’s run 14:20 in the 5K and enjoys spotting tracks from the sky on airplanes. (Look for colorful ovals around football fields.)
