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Eliud Kipchoge has finally addressed the suspicion, abuse, and bullying he received after being wrongfully linked to the road accident that killed record holder Kelvin Kiptum and his coach.
The two-time Olympic champion claims he feared for his family's safety after the hate campaign.
According to some social media users, Kipchoge was part of a plot to assassinate Kiptum, who had broken his record in Chicago last October.
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"I don't have power to go to police and tell them my life is in danger. So my concern was actually to tell my family to be extra conscious and cautious," he said.
"I started to call a lot of people.
"I got really scared of my children going to school and coming back.
Kipchoge was overcome with emotion during an interview at his house in Eldoret when revealing the impact of the abuse campaign on his mother.
Kipchoge believes he has "lost about 90%" of his friends as a result of the erroneous association with Kiptum's accident and internet bullying.
"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," he added.
Kipchoge's team removed the distance runner from social media following the harassment, but he claims he never contemplated deleting his accounts.
He feels that the social media hate got to him and affected his performance.
Kipchoge finished 10th at the Tokyo Marathon on March 3, his lowest result since his debut in 2013. He was nearly two and a half minutes behind winner Benson Kipruto.
Despite that setback, he got selected to Kenya's marathon team for the Paris 2024 Olympics on Wednesday and is now focused on making more history at the Games, hoping to win his third gold medal.
