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Ex marathon world record holder and two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge says his family’s lives were threatened when a social media abuse campaign wrongly attributed the death of current world record holder Kelvin Kiptum to him.
Kenyan pair Kipchoge and Kiptum were set for an epic master-vs-apprentice battle at the Paris Olympic marathon in August down to the last tragic death in a car accident last February.
After monopolizing the world’s marathon races for more than half a decade, Kipchoge sensationally broke his world record from 23-year-old Kiptum in Chicago last year, which set a new low of two hours and 35 seconds.
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For the first time since 2018, Kipchoge did not hold the record and sent a warning shot that his two consecutive Olympic crowns were under threat.
When the heartbreaking news broke that the two would not get the chance to face each other in an Olympic blockbuster, fans on social media began wrongly speculating that Kipchoge was part of a sinister plot to kill Kiptum.
“I was shocked that people (on) social media platforms were saying, ‘Eliud is involved in this boy’s death,'” Kipchoge said BBC Sport Africa.
“It was the worst news of my life.
“I got a lot of bad stuff; that they will burn the (training) camp, they will burn my investments in the city, they will burn my house, they will burn my family. It didn’t happen, but that’s the world.”
The 39-year-old running legend said his main concern is the health and 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 very aware and cautious,” he said.
“I started calling a lot of people.
“I was very scared for my children to go to school and come back.
“Sometimes they drive you around but we had to stop them because you never know what’s going to happen. We started dropping them off (at school) and picking them up (picking them up) in the evening.
“My girl was at boarding school – that was a positive that she didn’t have access to social media – but it’s hard for my boys to hear ‘your dad killed someone.’
Kiptum’s death, aged 24, came just days after his marathon world record time of 2:00.35 was officially ratified.
“Devastating news as we mourn the loss of a remarkable personality, Kelvin Kiptum, world record holder and icon of Kenyan athletics,” Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said after his death.
“Along with his trainer, they were tragically killed in an accident tonight.
“My deepest condolences to his family, friends and the entire athletic fraternity. Our nation mourns the profound loss of a true hero.
Kipchoge’s record of 2:01.09 stands from September 2022, when he broke his own previous record of 2:01.39.
“I knew I was coming for a course record, but a world record – I’m so happy,” Kiptum said last year after becoming the world’s best.
“I wasn’t thinking about a world record today, but I knew that one day I would be a world record holder.”
Many expected Kiptum to eventually become the first runner to break the magical two-hour mark under official race conditions.
Kipchoge broke two hours in Vienna in 2019, but only with the help of specially designed conditions in what was an exhibition event, not a race.
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