The death in a road accident of Kelvin Kiptum in February took the marathon world by surprise. Tributes have multiplied to pay tribute to the marathon record holder, who will never have run against the other monster of the marathon, his Kenyan compatriot Eliud Kipchoge.
At the same time, death threats appeared online, targeting Kipchoge. Internet users suggested that the latter would be involved in the death of his compatriot, to take revenge on Kiptum who had just seized the marathon record in 2:00:35 in Chicago.
“I was shocked that people were saying on social media that I was involved in this boy’s deathtells the 39-year-old founder to BBC Sport Africa . I received a lot of threats: that they were going to burn the camp (training) , that they were going to burn my investments in town, my house, my family. It didn’t happen, but that’s the way the world is. »
From personal life to sport
If her daughter, who attends a boarding school, was spared by her turmoil, she now has to drop off and pick up her boys from school every day. The hateful comments even reached his mother. “I come from a really rural area. And with my mother’s age, I understood that social networks can really sneak in everywhere. But she gave me courage, it was a really difficult month. »
The double Olympic champion explains having lost 90% of his friends since Kiptum’s death. “It was really painful to learn that those close to me, my training buddies, those with whom I am in contact, had bad words towards me. »
“Friendship doesn’t last forever”
To the point of affecting his preparation. “In Tokyo, I didn’t sleep for three dayshe confides. I’ve never been so bad. » And it was felt, since the Kenyan ranked 10e marathon in the Japanese capital, his worst career result.
But that does not change the ambitions of the cross-country skier, who is aiming for the title in the Paris Olympic marathon. “I want to go down in the history books, becoming the first human to win an Olympic title three times in a row”, he reaffirms. But with a dark epilogue after 20 years of career: “I learned that friendship doesn’t last forever. What happened led me to not trust anyone. I don’t even trust my own shadow anymore. »
