The Uasin Gishu County government is set to celebrate its hometown hero, Eliud Kipchoge, in a grand way by naming a street in Eldoret town after the legendary marathon runner.
This move comes in recognition of Kipchoge’s outstanding achievements and unwavering commitment to elevating Kenya’s reputation on the global stage through athletics.
Governor Jonathan Chelilim Bii, in an interview with NTV, expressed immense pride in Kipchoge’s historic fifth victory at the Berlin Marathon.
Eliud’s incredible feat, clocking an impressive 2:03:42 despite narrowly missing his own world record, has brought unparalleled honor to Kenya.
“In his respect, we as the Uasin Gishu county government will name one street after him in Eldoret town.
We are celebrating him a lot and congratulations to him,” said the overjoyed governor.
Fans come out to support Kipchoge as Wall of fame is unveiled
Eldoret town was abuzz with excitement as hundreds of athletics’ enthusiasts and devoted supporters gathered at the Eldoret-Iten and Uganda road junction to witness the World’s Greatest Marathon runner’s triumphant moment.
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The governor, along with Ambassador Sebastian Groth of the Federal Republic of Germany to Kenya, led the enthusiastic crowd in celebrating Kipchoge’s remarkable achievement.
The governor, together with the German Ambassador also unveiled a wall of fame featuring Kenya’s greatest runners such as the legendary Kipchoge Keino and World’s 800 m Champion David Rudisha.
He praised the residents for their unwavering support of Kenyan athletes at the Berlin Marathon 2023.
Moreover, he revealed that naming streets after prominent runners from the country shall be a common thing.
“Now that Eldoret town is going to be upgraded to a city level, we will be seeing more of this,” he added.
At the same time, Berlin, the city where Kipchoge has achieved remarkable success, paid tribute to him with a captivating piece of street art.
The mural, unveiled at the clubhouse of the Berlin Braves running club, captures Kipchoge in full stride.
It celebrates his dominance at the Berlin Marathon, where he had triumphed a record four times prior to Sunday’s win and set world records in 2018 and 2022.
This artistic masterpiece, created by the Dutch artist collective Kamp Seedorf in collaboration with Kipchoge’s professional running team, the NN Running Team, and Global Sports Communication, combines the worlds of street art and sports, encapsulating the spirit of running.
Viral image of German Street named after the Olympic Medalist
While Kipchoge’s glorious win has sparked social media buzz, a recent viral image falsely claimed that a street in Germany had been named after him.
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However, Kenyan journalist Abuga Makori, backed by a Berlin-based researcher, clarified that no such street exists in Germany to honor Kipchoge.
“This road does not exist currently. It takes a very long time, and it is a very long process before any street can be renamed or named after any prominent person,” clarified Njenga, a Berlin-based lecturer and researcher.
He added,” the only place I have seen names of Kenyan athletes memorialized publicly is at the entrance of Adidas headquarters during a visit there sometime last year.”
As Uasin Gishu County prepares to name a street after Eliud Kipchoge, they join the global community in celebrating a marathon legend whose achievements continue to inspire and elevate Kenya’s reputation in the world of athletics.
