Were Olympic Legends Kipyegon And Kipchoge Ridiculed In Kenya? | First Sports With Rupha Ramani

Were Olympic Legends Kipyegon And Kipchoge Ridiculed In Kenya? | First Sports With Rupha Ramani

A massive outrage in Kenya followed over three statues. Fans felt the statues that were meant to depict Olympic running icons Faith Kipyegon, Eliud Kipchoge and another prominent runner were 'hideous'. One of the statues was built to honour the achievements of Kipyegon - the gold medallist in 1500m at the Paris Games. After the backlash, the statues were removed but not before they made fans furious. While Kenya has a history of producing impressive runners, was the act a setback for the country? Rupha Ramani brings you the details.

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Paris Olympics | Olympics 2024 | Kipyegon | Kipchoge | Olympics | Firstpost | First Sports | Rupha Ramani | Firstpost | Sports News

#parisolympics #olympics2024 #kipyegon #kipchoge #firstsports #rupharamani #sportsnews #firstpost

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[bellaolum]

Those statues were too hideous, they didn't do any justice to our heroes!

[gideonkipchumba]

EEEISH JAMENI, , KENYA HATUKOSI HUKU KILA SIKU😂😂💀

[rosekithome]

Trust you me ... Those hideous statues costed millions of shillings. Corruption in Kenya is at another level

[alextercisio]

Yani in international media Kenya always beats the headlines wawa

[jkaris]

Good presentation good dig and exposure of ruto dysfunctional regime

[mbuvitelvin]

initially it was 'africa kills her sun' but now its 'corruption kills africa'

[DashikiFilms]

Heheheh unajua nacheka kwa nini ...hii ni Maaaajabuu

[tdunde]

Firstpost! 😂 😂 Why?why? This was a family affair, we were to keep the embarrassment in-house! But Nooo! Not Firstpost 😂😂

[kefabosire]

Thanks Rupha for higlihting this mediocrity in Kenya. These poorly executed statues are a glaring insult to the athletes who have put Kenya on the global map. Our athletes have given their blood, sweat, and tears to bring glory to this country. They deserve monuments that reflect their greatness, not substandard works that diminish their achievements. It is disheartening to see that the government, which should be the custodian of our national pride, has settled for such a half-hearted effort. This is not merely an aesthetic issue; it speaks to a deeper lack of respect and recognition for the dedication and excellence our athletes embody.

[MundiaKamau]

Great feature, Rupha, great presentation. I am from Kenya, and I humbly submit as below regarding your feature:

1. I love the way you pronounce Eldoret. You pronounce it slightly wrong, though your pronunciation of Eldoret is cool;

2. Kenya was a British Colony from 1920 to 1963, and your pronunciation of Kenya sounds just like how White Kenyans used to pronounce Kenya in colonial times. Nothing wrong with that though Rupha, because you are not from Kenya;

3. At minute 0:43 is Hellen Obiri. She is not from Eldoret, she is from a region of Kenya known as Kisii;

4. And no Rupha, Kenyan athletes are not "god like" to us, as you mention. If anything, one of the things that could be considered "god like" to us here in Kenya, is the English Premier League, and it's big teams, past and present, such as Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal. We are not exactly loyal to our country, or to ourselves. For example, if a big English football club, such as those I mention, were to visit Kenya, today, 17th August 2024, and if today also, 17th August 2024, there was an event to honour all Kenyan athletes, past and current, at a live event, where all living Kenyan athletes, past and current, would be present, the venue with the big English football team would be packed to capacity, while the venue with the Kenyan athletes would not be packed to capacity, would have few attendees;

5. Faith Kipyegon is not a marathon runner as you mention Rupha, she is a middle-distance runner;

6. I also love how you pronounce Eliud Kipchoge's second name i.e. Kipchoge. Sounds really cool;

7. Finally, I love the posting by "Gwalla" in your feature stating: "The statues of Faith Kipyegon and Eliud Kipchoge represent our collective mediocrity as a country."

Regards, Michael M. Kamau, Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa, 17th August 2024.

[troppe]

Not really the best Olympic year for Kenya at all. In previous years, we made it to #10 worldwide. We're a force to reckon with when it comes to athletics 😊

[vickkara]

Who actually gets a paycheck to advise president Ruto?

[jacklineachieng]

That's corruptions whoever did that shame on you.

[chrissya]

Why such hideous statues of our stars athletes? How much of the money allocated for the statues was pocketed?

[Uty-qx]

Do you get more views when you mention Kenya every time adding a negative thumbnail. No one disgraced them and do your research very well the statues was never said to be representing anyone that’s just from social media people like you because the county officials never mentioned anyone represented by the statues. I think instead of focusing too much on Kenya, have you tried talking about what’s going on in India - Kolkata, am yet to find the news here. Leave Kenya and mother Africa alone. Focus on India and Asia mostly. VIVA✊🏿

[geoffreymwiti]

I think we a country we have to kearn the best way to encourage and mother and gather resources for whats ours I believe we could do better if we appreciate what God's given more better than what has been done even before independence

[BaronBattles]

AFTER I SAW THERE STATURE THEY WERE TERREBLY HUMONGOUS I HATE IT

[antonymugambi]

Excellence is an acquired taste; can’t blame the artists that designed those sorry statues. The blame falls on a county government that is comfortable with mediocrity.

[abrahamstyles]

always ready to blackmail kenya, style up & b fair

[Zak-pnir]

The one for Kipchoge is alittle better.Nontheless, they should have asked public opinion, or an expert's opinion before mounting the statues...