A section of Kenyans online have criticized former record holder Eliud Kipchoge for not publicly congratulating Kevin Kiptum after he broke the men’s marathon world record in Chicago, USA.
Kiptum stunned the world by winning the marathon in 2 hours, 0 minutes, 35 seconds, surpassing compatriot Eliud Kipchoge’s previous record by 34 seconds, making the reality of a human running a marathon in under two hours a dizzying reality.
Following Kiptum’s surprise victory, Kenyans flocked to the internet to congratulate him, pouring praise on him for bringing glory home and breaking a record that had previously been considered unbreakable.
Kipchoge, whose record was broken, has however remained silent, not expressing a single word on his social media accounts.
Tired of waiting for Kipchoge’s message, netizens slammed him for not acknowledging Kiptum.
Below are some of the comments from Kenyans.
Kigen: “I have been a huge fan of Eliud since 2004. It’s unsportsmanlike to ignore Kelvin’s performance.”
Sortum Kipkemoi: “I don’t think anyone owns other people’s success or keys to success. Lack of congratulations or with congratulations doesn’t add or subtract anything.”
Kipsoiwet; “24 hours later, the former record holder Eliud Kipchoge has not yet congratulated Kelvin Kiptum for breaking the Marathon World Record! But nikiongea mtasema niko na issues. Acha Mungu aamue hii kesi…”
Cheruiyot Cheres: “It is painful, but Kipchoge is a good man. From my point of view, it’s like he did not believe what Kiptum did.
Abraham Mutai: “I haven’t seen a tweet from Eliud Kipchoge congratulating Kiptum for smashing the world record set by Kipchoge himself. What could be wrong with Kipchoge who keeps bombarding us with motivational quotes on how you must stretch the limits? Kiptum did stretch those limits, right?”
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