Kenyans poured scorn and ridicule Thursday on a statue they said depicted Olympic running icon Faith Kipyegon, among several erected in the world-renowned running hub of Eldoret to fete the nation’s victorious Olympians.
The crude painted figure of a female athlete, wearing a top emblazoned with the Kenyan flag, was hastily removed after residents complained, media reports said, but not before images went viral.
Social media users widely described it as a statue of Kipyegon, with radio station NRG mocking it as “hideous” while others branded it a “disgrace” to Kenya’s athletics queen and some called for the sculptor to be arrested.
Kipyegon made history at the Paris Games when she became the first woman to win three consecutive Olympic 1,500m gold medals, crossing the line in a new Olympic record of 3min 51.29sec.
The 30-year-old also took silver in the 5,000m after initially being disqualified for an alleged shove on Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay.
“I don’t know where they got the courage to disrespect the golden girl #FaithKipyegon with this so ugly statue… The artist should be arrested,” said one person on X, formerly Twitter.
“Those conmen of Eldoret who made this statue of #FaithKipyegon should be taken to court with an immediate effect,” said former cabinet minister Moses Kuria.
“Even those who approved millions of shillings on this nonsense, should be answerable to the Anti corruption Committee!”
Brian Chibole, 24, one of the Eldoret construction workers who helped take down the statue, told AFP it was now lying in the company’s yard waiting to be sent back to Nairobi.
Another similarly amateurish statue — now also taken down — was said to be of marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge, whose hopes of winning a historic third straight gold in Paris were dashed when he pulled up about 30 kilometres into the race.
With a total of 11 medals — four gold, two silver and five bronze — Kenya came 17th in the medal tally at the Olympics, the best performance of any African nation.
But the backlash over the statues overshadowed the reception for the returning Olympic heroes in Eldoret, where President William Ruto awarded the athletes three million shillings ($800) for each gold medal, two million for silver and one million for bronze.
“I am very proud this morning, almost emotional, that these sportsmen and women are making our country great,” Ruto said.
