Our legends deserve more, better statues

1500m women's Olympic Champion Faith Kipyegon. When Eldoret, the City of Champions, got the much-awaited elevation on August 15, statues erected in honour of the town's highly regarded athletes were still a subject of debate. The town, now The City of Eldoret, was on a mission to celebrate its celebrated athletes, but it appeared the modelling of statues in honour of the heroes was done in a hurry, igniting a storm. Eldoret has not had statues of athletics legends, but one of its iconic stadiums is named after one of the country's fathers of track athletics - 1968 Mexico City Olympics 1500m champion Kipchoge Keino. Kipchoge Keino Stadium is still incomplete, nearly a decade after an upgrade started. An attempt to honour three-time 1500m Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon and the world's greatest of all-time marathoner Eliud Kipchoge with statues failed after the monuments failed to capture the real images of the duo. Critics took to social media to say the statues could not be a befitting recognition of the City of Champion's stars. According to the Uasin Gishu County government, the statues were erected by one of Eldoret's investors, who had good intentions but failed to produce the expected statues. The statues were removed in the wake of the uproar. "There was a small mistake. When you are still growing, there are mistakes that you make. When we were making the statues, we didn't have any funding, and the business community came in and supported the beautification of streets and roundabouts and others promised to erect statues. "Those who chose to support us with the statues of our athletes said they would be unveiled as a surprise on the eve of the elevation of Eldoret to city status. "When checked the statues, we saw scary creatures that almost looked like humans. We brand ourselves through sports and that is why we are the City of Champions. "It turned out that Faith Kipyegon and Eliud Kipchoge's statues looked like something else. It was not our mistake. Our sponsors also realized when it was too late," Governor Jonathan Bii said in his response to the statues. The unsuccessful attempt sparked debate on the best way Kenya can honour and keep the memories of her greatest athletes. Several Kenyan world beaters have been honoured with statues and halls of fame across the globe, but not at home. Observers say Kenya should borrow a leaf from other countries that have honoured the country's athletics stars with statues. In October 2023, US-based apparel company, Nike unveiled a statue of marathon great Eliud Kipchoge at its headquarters in Oregon. In a statement on its website, Nike noted that the statue made of bronze was erected near a cherished running path in the city. A statue of Eliud Kipchoge in Oregon On his watch, the iconic 1:59:40 time recorded in his historic marathon in Austria, Vienna is engraved. Further, according to Nike, the statue has a wristband on the left hand bearing Kichoge's famous phrase "No human is limited". Kipchoge's statue was created by a local artist named Alison Caswell. "The statue was created by local Oregon artist Alison Caswell and captures Kipchoge's signature gait and unique running style," the apparel company reported. In addition to the statue, Nike renamed a track at its European Headquarters after Kipchoge. It was Eliud Kipchoge Track and Field. The track, which underwent renovations earlier in 2023 to expand the number of lanes and modernize the track surface, serves a growing number of passionate runners. In 2000, a statue of legendary coach Bill Bowerman was installed outside the Bowerman Sports Science Center, before it was later moved to the NE corner of the new Hayward Field. The sculptor was Diana Lee Jackson. Bowerman co-founded the American multinational corporation Nike. The statue was installed on June 21, 2000. In November 2021, Georgia Tech athletics unveiled a statue of legendary director of athletics Homer Rice. The statue is located on Callaway Plaza, just outside Bobby Dodd Stadium, and steps from the entrance to Georgia Tech's Homer Rice Center for Sports Performance. Rice's statue is the third to be dedicated on Callaway Plaza, joining sculptures of John Heisman and Bobby Dodd. They were honoured for their achievements during their prime. Heisman was recognized for bagging the most prominent national awards for college football's player of the year while Dodd was the coach of the year. Rice was the Yellow Jackets' athletics director from 1980-97. Under his leadership, Georgia Tech revitalized its athletics program, highlighted by winning its fourth football national championship in 1990. However, perhaps Rice's biggest legacy is the Total Person Program, which he developed and implemented at Tech and went on to be the model for the NCAA Life Skills Program that is now practised across college athletics. He died on June 10 at the age of 97. The eye-catching Rice statue on Callaway Plaza is a seven-foot tall bronze sculpture designed by internationally renowned sculptors Don Haugen and Teena Stern Haugen. The Nairobian Sport also looks at several other examples of how sports heroes have been honoured with sculptures mounted on conspicuous places and stadiums. One of the world's fastest women Sha'Carri Richardson received accolades from Nike solidifying her status among the pantheon of sports legends. In a grand gesture of recognition, the company erected a statue of Richardson alongside basketball icon LeBron James and football sensation Kylian Mbappe in the heart of Paris, heralding the countdown to the 2024 Olympic Games. After three consecutive NBA titles and his first retirement in 1993, Bulls legend Michael Jordan was honoured with a statue outside the United Center in 1994. The next season, His Airness returned to the Bulls and won three more titles in a row. A statue of Herb Brooks, the head coach of the gold medal-winning 1980 United States Olympic ice hockey team most famous for shocking the USSR in the "Miracle on Ice", stands outside the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. A statue of Michael Jordan A Pennsylvania native, golfing legend Arnold Palmer has a statue outside of the airport that bears his name near his hometown of Latrobe. Not many men have both a drink and an airport named after them, but "The King" is certainly worthy of such an honour.

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