Kenya-born US athlete’s tweet sparks outrage
USA’s Stanley Kebenei leads the pack during the senior men’s race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Kampala on March 26, 2017. Kebenei is among the athletes who criticised a tweet by fellow Kenya-born US runner Samuel Chelanga seemingly disparaging Africa. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA |
What you need to know:
- Athletes, fans angered by Twitter comment
- Chelanga became a US citizen only in August, 2015.
- Chelanga finished 11th in Kampala last weekend.
Kenyan and US athletes on Wednesday reacted angrily to a tweet by Kenya-born American runner Samuel Kiprono Chelanga apparently disparaging African athletics after last weekend’s IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Kampala.
Chelanga, who became a US citizen only in August 2015, went to chase the American dream thanks to support from his Kenyan brother Joshua Chelanga and former world marathon record-holder Paul Tergat, who landed him a track scholarship at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.
After finishing 11th in Kampala last weekend, running in a USA jersey, Chelanga tweeted: “I wouldn’t recommend racing in Africa. Super thankful for 11th place overall.”
The comment didn’t go down well with athletics fans and athletes alike, with his fellow Kenya-born US runner Stanley Kebenei, who finished 26th, criticising his tweet.
“Weather conditions Gate River Florida was almost same in Uganda! But I guess Africa is a foreign place to Sam,” said Kebenei.
Besides Chelanga and Kebenei, USA was also represented by other former Kenyans in the Kampala races, namely Leonard Korir (20th overall in the senior men’s race) and Shadrack Kipchirchir (21st).
The US women’s team has ex-Kenyans Aliphine Chepkerer Tuliamuk, who finished 15th in the race that saw Kenya take the top six places.
Burundi’s US-based distance runner Diane Nukuru also tore into Chelanga, tweeting, under the hashtag #youstilllookafricantome: “You forgot where you came from. I bet your family is proud of you. Shame on you!”
OUT OF CONTEXT
Chelanga then sought to mitigate the fallout from his tweet, claiming it was “sarcastic” and was taken out of context, but most would have none of that.
But journalist Kipkoech Tanui, The Standard Group’s deputy editorial director, felt the comment might have been taken out of context.
“This is very much unlike this guy,” he posted on Facebook. “I know the family and how he frequents home and how he helped his dad when he was ailing. What was the context? I hope he didn’t mean this.”
Bernard Lagat, also born in Kenya and currently the USA’s most decorated middle-distance runner, was livid in his criticism of Chelanga’s comments.
“@SamChelanga, while IAAF tries its best to bring sports to Africa, people like you keep dragging the continent down,” tweeted Lagat, a two-time world champion and five-time Olympian.
