The death of Kiptum At the age of 24 – and just five months after his world record run – Kiptum and coach Gervais Hakizimana died in a car accident near Kaptagat. Police said Kiptum lost control of his car late at night and hit a tree. A whispering campaign in Kenya emerged, falsely suggesting Kipchoge had been involved. The champion lost friends and training partners, as a result, and was subjected to online abuse and threats. “I was shocked that people [on] social media platforms are saying, ‘Eliud is involved in the death of this boy’,” Kipchoge told BBC Sport Africa last year. “That was my worst news ever in my life. I received a lot of bad things; that they will burn the [training] camp, they will burn my investments in town, they will burn my house, they will burn my family.” The strain ultimately contributed to Kipchoge’s toughest year, including the heartbreak of failing to finish as he chased an unprecedented third consecutive Olympic gold. “[It] was a really, really hard year in my career; it was a hard time for me and my family,” he says. “My people around me, it was the hardest time ever. And you know, personally, we are only giving positivity to the sport, but people can think exactly negative of what you are doing. “It brought a lot of impact to myself, to my family. And those people, they drove me down and took me down. But all in all, I know myself, I know what I’ve been doing. I try to be a good person and wake up and move on with the sport, and that’s where I am now.” Did he ever think about walking away? “My love of running is still there, so I ask myself, ‘Why do I quit? Why do I run away? Because somebody was actually saying a lot of things?’,” Kipchoge says. “So let me still keep running, and do what I’ve been doing. I believe in the values which I’m standing for. I’m still standing on them.” Fast cars and Sydney run clubs Ever humble, Kipchoge demurs when asked about being the greatest. So if he is not, who does he rate as the GOAT? “I think Haile Gebrselassie is the GOAT,” he answers. “I believe Haile opened a lot of doors for all of us, the younger people. “Outside of long-distance running, I believe the Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton is a GOAT. I got a lot of inspiration from him. For driving for that long, the speed of over 300[km/h] for the whole year, year in, year out, and the values that he’s standing for.” Kipchoge was 15 during the Sydney Olympics, when Gebrselassie won his second gold in the 10,000m, but his stronger memory is being at school when all of Kenya stopped to cheer home hero Noah Ngeny as he beat the legendary Hicham El Guerrouj in the 1500m. He plans to look over the Sydney course next week in a car before the race, but if you’ve ever wondered if you could foot it with Kipchoge, keep an eye out: he also wants to pop down to Bondi for a trot with a running club. “If you see the pictures, if you see everything on the internet as far as Sydney is concerned, it is beautiful” he says. “The bridge, the beauty, how the roads are, I’m really looking forward to it. “I believe Sydney will be the most beautiful course ever in this world.”