"People are saying that I have something to do with Kiptum's death!" Kipchoge revealed that he had received online violence and death threats
"It was the worst day of my life. I was shocked. People on social media were linking me to Kiptum's death. I received a lot of threats saying they were going to burn down my training camp. My house and family were burned down. I didn’t have the strength to tell the police that my life was under threat,” Kipchoge said.
Three months after marathon world record holder Kevin Kiptum died in a car accident, 39-year-old Kipchoge recently accepted an interview with the BBC and spoke publicly about the incident to the camera for the first time. thing. After Kiptum's death, although the police quickly announced the results of the accident investigation, many people with conspiracy theories blamed him for Kiptum's death, and a large number of people on social media targeted him. , this online violence not only swept him, but also affected his family.
Photo, Paris, October 31, 2021, Kipchoge before the game.
On the same day, to celebrate the 1,000-day countdown to the 2024 Paris Olympics, a national marathon 5-kilometer race was held on the Champs Elysées in Paris, France, with more than 3,600 runners competing against Kipchoge, the men's marathon world record holder. Participate and the winner can participate in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games Marathon Mass Category.
Kiptum's rapid rise during his lifetime was considered a serious threat to Kipchoge. Although nothing was done, some people vented their grief and anger over Kiptum's death on him on social media. The reason was extreme remarks such as, "I didn't express my congratulations in time when the record was broken, and only tweeted after my death."
However, in the face of abuse and threats, Kipchoge still decided to train normally, "I think there is no need to change the training venue. Our sports are not in the gym, but need to run outdoors."
Kipchoge's team wanted him to stay away from social media for a while, but he said he never considered deleting his account. "If I delete my account, people will say I must be trying to hide something. So I won't delete my account, I won't do anything."
However, even though Kipchoge tried hard to remain calm in the storm, both his physical and mental state showed that he was not completely insulated from these negative voices. At the Tokyo Marathon in March this year, Kipchoge performed abnormally and only finished 10th, the worst ranking of his career. During the interview, he said frankly: "When I was in Tokyo, I didn't sleep for three days. I don't know where the sleep went, but I didn't fall asleep." This is the first time this has happened to Kipchoge because he was considered to be involved in Kiptum’s death and suffered dual threats and violence from both the Internet and reality. This also directly led to the failure of the Tokyo Marathon before it even started.
And the negative impact of the rumors seems to be difficult to reverse. Kipchoge said he lost 90 percent of his friends amid the overwhelming abuse. "For me, it was really hurtful and disappointing to hear these words from my training partners and people I was in contact with," Kipchoge said. "What happened made me no longer trust anyone. Even I wouldn’t trust someone who was my own shadow, and I learned that friendships don’t last forever.”
The online violence prompted Kipchoge's team to consider keeping him off social media, but Kipchoge said he had never considered logging out of his account. "If I delete my account, it means that I am hiding something," he said. "I will keep my account. I didn't do anything." At the same time, he said that he would not regard social media as a scourge, but still must be brave. face. Take care of your family and yourself, tell them, "be extra careful and cautious" and stay away from those so-called "friends" who attack you.
Not long ago, the Kenya Athletics Association announced the list of participants for the Paris Olympic Marathon. The 39-year-old Kipchoge will usher in his fifth Olympic Games. As a gold medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Kipchoge said: "My goal is to become the first marathon runner to win three consecutive Olympic titles."
The International Olympic Committee reportedly plans to use artificial intelligence during the Paris Olympics to identify abusive online content and report abusive posts to athletes to social media platforms. Kipchoge welcomed this.
A senior media person in the field of road running believes that as an invisible poisonous sword, the threat of cyber violence to athletes has never disappeared. He cited the example of "Asian flying man" Liu Xiang. He believed that Liu Xiang, who has participated in 48 world-class track and field competitions, won 36 victories, 6 silver medals and 3 bronze medals, has inspired countless people. However, he was scolded as an "actor", a liar, and a coward for a long time after withdrawing from the competition due to injury twice. "At that time, social media was not even as developed as it is today, but he was scolded year after year. When people missed him again, it was already ten years later, but really all of these people really missed him. Maybe not, because many of the people who scolded him were the same people who shouted his name when he was at his peak.”
