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Runners Are Targets Amid Kenya Strife

Athletes meet over accusations of stirring up violence

By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 24, 2008 9:29 PM CST
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(Newser) – Some of the world's best runners have been receiving death threats as conflict continues in their native Kenya, where rumors circulate that the athletes were involved in stirring up ethnic killings. Top Kenyan runners are meeting in the town of Eldoret to discuss their response, the AP reports. "I am scared. We are scared," says a Kenyan athletics official.

William Mutwol—a bronze medalist in the steeplechase at the 1992 Olympics—received a threatening text message reading, "We want your head" during this week's meeting. And former Olympic runner Lucas Sang was hacked to death Dec. 31, one of 700 to die in post-election violence. The runners have released a statement saying they don't know who is behind the rumors.

Former athlete Toby Tanser of Sweden, who lives in New York and was representing the New York Road Runners Board of Directors, center-right, and Kenyan long-distance runner Robert Cheruiyot, second from left, attend the funeral of Kenyan Olympic athlete Lucas Kipkemboi Sang, who was killed in post-election violence, in the...
Former athlete Toby Tanser of Sweden, who lives in New York and was representing the New York Road Runners Board of Directors, center-right, and Kenyan long-distance runner Robert Cheruiyot, second from...   (Associated Press)
A Kenyan runner stretches after returning to training in the early morning in the high-altitude - 2,400-meter (8,000-feet) - town of Iten in Kenya Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. Though post-election violence has eased in recent days, the mayhem has left indelible scars across Kenya which has consistently produced...
A Kenyan runner stretches after returning to training in the early morning in the high-altitude - 2,400-meter (8,000-feet) - town of Iten in Kenya Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. Though post-election violence...   (Associated Press)
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, center, shakes hands with opposition leader Raila Odinga, right, as former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, left, looks on, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008 in Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya's president and its main opposition leader met Thursday for the first time since their dispute over a presidential vote...
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, center, shakes hands with opposition leader Raila Odinga, right, as former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, left, looks on, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008 in Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya's...   (Associated Press)
A Kenyan runner stretches against a fencepost after returning to training in the early morning in the high-altitude - 2,400-meter (8,000-feet) - town of Iten in Kenya Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. Though post-election violence has eased in recent days, the mayhem has left indelible scars across Kenya which...
A Kenyan runner stretches against a fencepost after returning to training in the early morning in the high-altitude - 2,400-meter (8,000-feet) - town of Iten in Kenya Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. Though post-election...   (Associated Press)
Kenyan runners return to training in the early morning in the high-altitude - 2,400-meter (8,000-feet) - town of Iten in Kenya Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. Though post-election violence has eased in recent days, the mayhem has left indelible scars across Kenya which has consistently produced some of the...
Kenyan runners return to training in the early morning in the high-altitude - 2,400-meter (8,000-feet) - town of Iten in Kenya Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. Though post-election violence has eased in recent...   (Associated Press)
Kenyan runners return to training in the early morning in the high-altitude - 2,400-meter (8,000-feet) - town of Iten in Kenya Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. Though post-election violence has eased in recent days, the mayhem has left indelible scars across Kenya which has consistently produced some of the...
Kenyan runners return to training in the early morning in the high-altitude - 2,400-meter (8,000-feet) - town of Iten in Kenya Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. Though post-election violence has eased in recent...   (Associated Press)
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