Eliud Kipchoge condemns online abuse wrongly linking him to death of Kelvin Kiptum

Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Eliud Kipchoge has revealed he feared for the lives of his family following a campaign of online abuse and conspiracy theories wrongly linking the two-time Olympic champion and marathon great to the tragic death of rising star Kelvin Kiptum. Kipchoge said online trolls threatened to burn down his house after he was linked with Kiptum’s death on social media, revealing he also lost “90 per cent” of his friends as a result of the malicious rumours which spread as far as his elderly mother. “I was shocked that people on social media platforms are saying ‘Eliud is involved in the death of this boy’,” Kipchoge told BBC Sport Africa. open image in gallery Kelvin Kiptum broke Kipchoge’s London record as well as the world best “It was really painful for me to learn even from my own people, those who I have contact with, and the bad words are coming from them.