‘Disgrace’: Kenyan city tears down ‘embarrassing’ statue of Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon

Olympic women’s 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon was honoured with a statue in Kenya, only for it to be torn down amid outcry.

A statue believed to be of Kenyan Olympic hero Faith Kipyegon has been removed by authorities in the city of Eldoret after fans labelled it a “disgrace” and “embarrassing”.

Three statues of athletes were unveiled on Thursday at a ceremony awarding Eldoret city status.

The athletes depicted have not been named, but social media users believe one to be Kipyegon, who set a new world record as she won 1500-metre gold at the Paris Games and claimed silver in the 5000m.

Another is thought to be Kenyan marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge – who did not add to his gold medals from Rio and Tokyo as he failed to finish the race in the French capital.

The statues have been widely criticised by locals and those online due to them not resembling the athletes they supposedly represent.

As a result, they were removed overnight on Thursday.

Speaking on X, one person said: “It’s a disgrace calling it a Faith Kipyegon statue.”

Another commented: “And someone pocketed millions to do a Faith Kipyegon statue in Eldoret. What a mediocrity, if not an insult!”

Another called it “an abomination”.

Faith Kipyegon claimed gold in the 1500m in Paris. Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

That's the Ronaldo statue all over again. Photo: Twitter

Aussie Jess Hull got silver. Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images

Others described the pieces of artwork as “embarrassing”, “shameless” and “substandard”.

It has not yet been confirmed whether they will be replaced.

Kipyegon became the first woman to win three successive Olympic 1500m golds in Paris as she added to her titles from 2016 and 2021.

Eldoret is known as the “home of champions” due to it being located in the middle of the Rift Valley where many of Kenya’s top athletes originate from.

As well as the athletes statues, other artworks unveiled included ones of a maize cob and a milk fountain.

This story first appeared in The Sun and was republished with permission.

Originally published as ‘Disgrace’: Kenyan city tears down ‘embarrassing’ statue of Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon