Kenyans took to social media to condemn the denied opportunity to vote for marathoner Eliud Kipchoge after he was nominated for the BBC World Sport Star of The Year 2019.
On Friday, November 29, 2019, Kipchoge appreciated the nomination and asked Kenyans to vote for him, going on to share a link.
“Honoured to be nominated amongst these great athletes, all in their respective sports. To vote please visit: ,” he posted on Twitter.
However, the link did not work for many Africans as the website displayed an error message that it wasn't available in Kenya and other African countries.
Comrade Otoa wrote “BBC says this vote is not available in my location. What a wow. So Ugandans can’t vote!!!! Shame that the vote is controlled by Europe. Unfair advantage.”
"Denying Kenyans to vote for Eliud Kipchoge by BBC Sport is another form of colonization. I hope he wins this to shame for this," Victortoo critisised.
“Apparently the vote is not available in my location,” Paul Kiarie noted.
Bironga O’Makori commented,"Yo Eliud bro, these BBC guys have rigged Kenya and the region out of the vote. Fair?" "You're still the world's greatest,” he added.
“The voting site says that voting is not available in Kenya. what's up?” wondered Muqtada Al Tadr.
However, many Kenyans continued to praise Kipchoge’s achievements wishing him the best in the competition that puts him against world champions including the iconic golf title holder, Tiger Woods.
Others placed against Kipchoge in this category include American Simon Biles who boasts of 25 medals in various gymnastics competitions and South African Rugby Captain Siya Kolisi who led the Springboks in winning the Rugby World cup.
American female footballer Megan Rapinoe and Australian cricket star Steve Smith are also in the list of nominees for the title.
Kipchoge hit one of the world’s most esteemed achievements on October 12, when he became the first man to run a marathon in under two hours at a specially organized event in Vienna, Austria.
The world marathon record holder completed the challenge by running the distance in 1 hour 59 minutes 40 seconds for a majestic achievement that attracted global acclaim.
The 35-year-old also won his fourth London Marathon in April 2019, setting a record 11 marathon wins from 12 races he participated in.
He was also crowned IAAF World Athlete of The Year on November 23, along with American 400m hurdles world record holder Dalilah Muhammad.
