Marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge shared words of wisdom, cracking up guests and graduands during the 41st graduation ceremony of the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).
Kipchoge was speaking after receiving a Doctor of Humane Letters (Honoris Causa) from the University on Friday, 1st December.
An Honoris Causa is a type of honor, especially of a degree, awarded without examination by high level institutions as a mark of esteem.
Notably, Prof Joseph Mathu Ndung’u, JKUAT’s Chancellor conferred the Olympic champion with the degree stating, “You are no longer a Mr. but a Dr.”
After receiving the accolade, Kipchoge took to the stage to address the attendants, most of whom were graduands.
The marathon legend matched his track heroics to his sense of humor through some words of wisdom.
Kipchoge cracks up audience
Notably, he advised the graduands about mentorship, through a fictional story.
“I always start by saying once upon a time there were three animals, the king of the jungle-the lion, the hyena and the donkey,” he narrated.
The marathon legend went on to narrate the fictional story in which the donkey twice became lucky from facing death in the hands of the lion after being misled by the hyena.
In the end, the donkey died during the third encounter, after yet again being misled by the hyena, which according to Kipchoge, was a bad mentor.
Additionally, the only human to run a marathon under two hours cracked up the audience as he explained the clarification given by the hyena to the lion following the donkey’s death.
“After slaughtering the donkey, the hyena ate the brain and took the liver and the lungs to the king.
The king asked the hyena where the brain was,” continued Kipchoge.
The hyena’s response was, “The donkey had no brains. If he had brains, he couldn’t have come three times to you.”
Words of wisdom
“The moral of the story is getting that good mentor, walk with that positive person, walk with that person who will have your back and hold you in every situation,” advised Kipchoge.
Eliud was being recognized for his commendable philanthropic and humanitarian contributions to humanity by JKUAT.
Also, in his speech, the marathon great said that he was honored to have received such an accolade.
“It’s truly an honor to be here today.
I extend my deepest gratitude to the Chancellor, Vice Chancellor and Senate for honoring me with the honorary degree of doctors of humane letters,” he said.
Additionally, the only human to have run a marathon under two hours acknowledged the honor as a call to him to elevate his commitment to bettering the global community.
Philanthropic acts by Kipchoge
He added, “This recognition inspires me to further my philanthropic endeavors particularly in supporting the education of under privileged children and establishing accessible libraries in those areas.”
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Also, the Olympic champion pledged to continue supporting environment conservation initiatives.
This includes efforts such as planting of indigenous trees and contributing to mitigate effects of climate change.
“Additionally, I am dedicated to environmental conservation especially amid critical challenges such as global warming,” said Kipchoge.
According to Kipchoge’s citation read before his conferment, JKUAT recognized his philanthropic efforts in both the education and environment sectors.
“Kipchoge has contributed immensely to the construction of Kipsisiwa Secondary School library and he envisions constructing other libraries across the other 47 counties,” read part of the citation.
JKUAT Recognition
In addition, while recognizing his environmental conservation efforts, JKUAT noted that the marathon great has adapted 130 acres of land at Kapsisiwa forest.
The citation noted, “Eliud has planted different indigenous tree species at the land, and he plans to plant even more trees to keep Kenya green.”
In the world of sports, Eliud was recognized after cementing his status as one of the greatest marathon greats as he became the only human in the whole world to run a marathon under 2hrs.
Also Read: Eliud Kipchoge Breaks Silence but Fails to Congratulate Kiptum
Achieving this fete during the iNEOS Challenge in October 2019, he delivered on his famous global pledge ‘No human is limited’.
Notably, JKUAT said the historic marathon attracted an estimated global audience of 500 million people.
Kipchoge E.G.H
Following his Vienna achievement, former President Uhuru Kenyatta honored Eliud with the Elder of the Order of the Golden Heart (E.G.H) award.
President Kenyatta awarded the legend with Kenya’s second highest honor barely two weeks after he made history in Vienna.
“Eliud who is alive and here with us has also inspired the world that no human effort is futile, that we can dream and make our dreams a possibility,” President Kenyatta said then.
