Joe McConnell
Authorities in the Kenyan city of Eldoret have removed statues of three athletes after they were widely ridiculed and described as “embarrassing” and a poorly executed “joke”.
The statues were unveiled ahead of Thursday’s ceremony granting Eldoret city status.
However, local residents and Kenyans online said they bore little resemblance to the athletes they supposedly represented.
Eldoret is known as the “home of champions” as it is located in the centre of the Rift Valley, where most of the world’s best Kenyan athletes come from.
The statues were removed overnight before President William Ruto officially designated Eldoret as a city.
This week the city unveiled several works of art, including three statues of athletes and other monuments such as a corn cob and a milk fountain.
They were meant to represent the sporting and agricultural heritage of the area and were erected at several strategic roundabouts in the city.
But the works of art immediately aroused widespread criticism, becoming objects of ridicule rather than the pride they should have inspired.
A Kenyan who shared a photo of a statue of a female athlete suspected of depicting 1,500-meter world record holder Faith Kipyegon, said the works represented “our collective mediocrity as a country.”
“It’s a shame to call it a statue of Faith Kipyegon,” another Kenyan on X he said.
Yet another X A user shared a supposed statue of marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge, calling it a “joke” and saying that “whoever did this will not see heaven.”
On Thursday morning, local media shared images of the empty pedestal on which one of the statues stood.
A local journalist told the BBC that on Wednesday evening county officials removed the three statues, two of which depict female athletes and one of a man, to an unknown location.
Officials did not say who they represent, but social media users described one as a statue of Kipyegon and another as that of Kipchoge.
But their portrayal of athletes has been called “shameless,” “embarrassing” and “substandard.”
Kenyans online welcomed the removal of the statues. It was unclear whether or when they would be replaced.
Ahead of the ceremony to proclaim Eldoret as Kenya’s fifth city, President Ruto hosted medal-winning athletes at the 2024 Olympics.
Each of them was rewarded with money, in accordance with a government program aimed at motivating athletes to perform well.
Kenya was the highest-placed African country at the Paris Olympics, finishing 17th in the medal table with four golds and a total of 11 medals.
Kipyegon won the 1,500-meter title in a new Olympic record of 3 minutes, 51.29 seconds, becoming the first woman to win three consecutive gold medals in the event.
He also won silver in the 5,000 meters.
Kipchoge, however, did not finish the marathon as a back injury forced him to withdraw.
