The 2005 World 5,000m champion Benjamin Limo has urged Kenyan athletes to keep off social media negativity as they prepare for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, in September.
Limo, Kenya’s sole gold medallist at the 2005 Helsinki World Championships, believes the barrage of criticism and misinformation is denting athlete morale and undermining the country’s efforts in the global arena.
“At this stage of preparation, staying focused is key. Athletes must block out the noise, especially from social media, which has become a hotbed of negativity,” Limo said
In Helsinki, Limo struck gold with a time of 13:32.55, edging out Ethiopia’s Sileshi Sihine (13:32.81) and Australia’s Craig Mottram (13:32.96).
His triumph in Finland came six years after clinching silver at the 1999 World Championships in Seville, clocking a blistering 12:58.72 behind Morocco’s Salah Hissou (12:58.13).
Born on 23rd August 1974, Limo has also served as Kenya’s athletes’ representative in the IAAF, a post that he held for two terms between 2007 and 2016.
Reflecting on his competitive years, Limo emphasised the discipline and trust athletes placed in their coaches and federation officials—traits he feels are slowly being eroded in today’s era of instant opinions and online criticism.
“I was an athlete representative for eight years between 2007 and 2016. During our time, we were not influenced by social media. We used to run based on the talks we received from our coaches and officials,” Limo said.
He highlighted that social media has become a pool of negative energy, which tends to affect an athlete's performance.
“However, in this current age, there is a lot of negative energy which comes from social media.”
Limo expressed concern over how social media has distorted the perception of Kenya’s anti-doping campaign and the integrity of team selections.
“Some posts do more harm than good. They create doubt in the minds of athletes and paint an unfair picture of the federation’s work. Even World Athletics sees these things. It hurts our image globally,” he warned.
With the World Championships fast approaching, Limo has urged athletes to unplug from the noise and focus on what truly matters.
“Last year we had the Olympic Games, for this year we have just had the World Relays, and we are heading for the World Championships, which are almost close to the Olympics,” he observed.
“There will be a lot of negative energy on social media. What I would encourage athletes to do is when we near the World Championships or during the preparations, you should stay away from all negative comments on social media.”
He emphasised that mental fortitude is just as crucial as physical readiness, especially in the final stretch of training.
“You have already prepared physically, so now we are just trying to prepare you mentally, and part of that mental preparation is to stay away from social media.”
Limo also cautioned against public arguments or online feuds that could tarnish reputations and distract from an athlete’s goals.
“So all athletes should be careful not to get dragged into social media squabbles because that can taint your image,” he said.
