Kenyans hurled contempt and mockery Thursday on a statue they claimed depicted Olympic athlete Faith Kipyegon in Eldoret, the world’s famous running capital, as the country celebrated its winning Olympians.
The amateurish monument of a female athlete wearing a shirt imprinted with the Kenyan flag was quickly removed after residents protested, according to media sources, but not before photographs of the dummy circulated.
Social media users largely described it as a Kipyegon statue, with some ridiculing it as a “disgrace” to Kenya’s athletics queen and a “joke,” while others demanded that the sculptor be arrested or imprisoned.
Kipyegon made history at the Paris Games by becoming the first woman to win three consecutive Olympic 1,500m gold medals, crossing the line in 3 minutes and 51.29 seconds.
The 30-year-old also won silver in the 5,000m after being initially disqualified for allegedly pushing Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay.
It was one of three Olympic athletics statues erected in Eldoret, including one claimed to be of marathon great Eliud Kipchoge, whose chances of capturing a remarkable third straight gold medal in Paris were crushed when he pulled up around 30 kilometers into the race.
Kenya’s returning Olympians are receiving a hero’s welcome in Eldoret, which President William Ruto will officially name a city later Thursday.