An official of Athletics Kenya (AK) Barnabas Korir has defended former world marathon record holder Paul Tergat in the wake of social media attacks, over remarks he allegedly made when he was still an active runner.
Tergat has found himself on the receiving end over claims he said no human will ever run a full marathon in under two hours.
World marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge last week ran a full marathon in under two hours, making Tergat a laughing stock, and victim of social media criticism.
However, Korir defended Tergat, who set the world record of 2:04:55 in the Berlin Marathon in 2003, saying the claims against him are false.
"Claims that he had said there is no man who will run Under 2 hours is not really true. What Tergat said was no one will post that kind of performance within his generation and I think he was right," he wrote in an opinion piece published by the Nation, Thursday.
"The attacks are very unnecessary because just like you and me, Tergat believes that records are set to be broken," Korir added.
The chairman of AK's Nairobi branch exuded confidence that Kipchoge could still become the first man to run under two hours in a competitive marathon, and reiterated it was wrong to continue castigating Tergat, who made history by becoming the first human to run under 2.05.
"Who knows it could be the same Kipchoge repeating history. But as Kenyans, it makes no sense to celebrate one legend by vilifying the other. We are one Kenya and we should remain as such," Korir stated.
Tergat is on record to have predicted that Kipchoge would beat the two-hour mark at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge which was held last Saturday in Vienna, Austria.
“He is going to do it! Just leave alone running 1:59:58, Eliud will run 1:58,” Tergat said in an interview with the Nation.