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Michael Ollinga is a journalist at TUKO.co.ke with over 10 years of experience covering courts and crimes, special reports, and current affairs in Kenya.
Two-time Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge has disclosed how rumours linking him to fellow athlete Kelvin Kiptum's death affected his family.
Kiptum, the marathon world record holder, died in a self-involved accident on Sunday, February 11, along the Eldoret-Kaptagat road.
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Kiptum died alongside his Rwandan coach, Gervais Hakizimana, in the incident that left the world athletics fraternity in shock.
"It was shocking to hear some people saying that I was involved in the death of the boy," 39-year-old Kipchoge told BBC Sport Africa.
President William Ruto, opposition leader Raila Odinga, and athletes, including Kipchoge, expressed their shock and grief while consoling the families of the bereaved.
However, Kipchoge's condolence message was met with negative reactions, as some Kenyans accused him of being behind the death of Kiptum.
They accused Kipchoge of being unhappy with Kiptum after the latter broke his world record and set a new one.
They backed their sensational and baseless accusations with the marathoner's delayed congratulatory message to Kiptum when he broke the world record.
After keeping a low profile, Kipchoge told the BBC that the social media accusations escalated to threats to his family, investments, and team at the training camp.
There were threats of burning his training camp and businesses in different parts of the country, according to Kipchoge.
His greatest worry was to ensure his family was safe because he was afraid the perpetrators of the threats could go after his children.
"I was really worried about the safety of my children, and I was calling a lot of people amidst the threats. My fear was about how my children would go and return from school," said Kipchoge.
He said his daughter's situation was fair because she was in boarding school and did not access social media, where all lies and sensational accusations were milled and circulated.
However, his young sons are in day school and have to be dropped off and picked up daily.
Amidst the tension, Kipchoge and his wife had to change their sons' routines to ensure their safety.
"The boys bike around sometimes, and we had to stop them because we were unsure what would happen. We started dropping them off to school in the morning and picking them up in the evening," Kipchoge narrated.
The athlete said it was traumatising for his young children to hear that their father had killed someone.
In the middle of the vile accusations, a video of Kipchoge taking pride in Kiptum's prowess on the road emerged and silenced his critics, who accused him of being jealous.
Proofreading by Asher Omondi, current affairs journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
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