Marathon great Eliud Kipchoge bags Sports Personality award

Double Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge is the LG/ SJAK Sports Personality for the month of September.

Kipchoge won the recognition after his world record-breaking 2:01:09 run at the Berlin Marathon on September 25.

That performance saw him lower his own world record mark by 30 seconds and capture a fourth Berlin Marathon title, equaling Ethiopian great Haile Gebrselassie's number of victories achieved in the German capital.

To honour this achievement, Kipchoge was awarded an LG refrigerator which doubles up as a top mount freezer and water dispenser worth Ksh.150, 000 and a personalized trophy.

Speaking at the LG Eldoret showroom, Kipchoge hailed SJAK and LG for constantly recognizing sportsmen and women for their efforts and glory brought to the country through their exemplary performances.

“I am happy and honoured to receive this special recognition from SJAK and LG. Winning this award once again is also a testament that we should always strive for more, there are no limits but rather everything is achieved through belief and determination. Breaking the world record in Berlin was crucial for me as I wanted to inspire the human race,” Kipchoge said.

He added, “I would also like to thank my family, my training mates and also my coach who have supported me and whom without them I would not have achieved all these in my career.”

William Kimore, the Content Manager LG East Africa, said Kipchoge was a living legend whose achievements over the years have inspired not only athletes but also the entire human race as well.

“We at LG are very proud to associate with the accomplishments of Eliud who has demonstrated that hard work and persistence pays with his record-breaking heroics. His mantra ‘No Human is Limited’ is a further inspiration to all of us that if we just push ourselves, we can achieve more than we have previously. We are thus happy today to award him this product as a token of appreciation and encourage him to continue pursuing his goals.

To win the award, Kipchoge beat other nominees including track stars Beatrice Chebet (5000m) and Emmanuel Korir (800m) both of whom claimed Diamond League trophies in the 2022 season finale held in Zurich, Switzerland and Hellen Obiri who successfully defended her Great North Run title in the same month.

Others nominees included; Malkia Strikers opposite attacker Sharon Chepchumba who emerged top scorer for Kenya at the World Championships in the Netherlands, Karan Patel who won the ARC Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally in Kigali and former Hit Squad captain Nick Okoth who bagged silver at the African Championships in Maputo, Mozambique.

Kipchoge joins a growing list of sportsmen and women who have won the award this year including junior WRC3 contender McRae Kimathi (February), Japan’s Nagoya Marathon winner Ruth Chepng’etich (March), Boston Marathon men’s winner Evans Chebet (April), national women’s volleyball team star Sharon Chepchumba (May), WRC3 Safari Rally winner Maxine Wahome (June), Wimbledon Open Doubles Junior Champion Angela Okutoyi (July) and Commonwealth Games 100m champion Ferdinand Omanyala (August).

SJAK organizing Secretary Wanjiku Mwenda reiterated that the monthly award seeks to reward excellence and has equally continued to whip up the enthusiasm of sportsmen and women across the country.

“We have walked this journey with LG and we thank them for their huge contribution towards sports in this country. I also congratulate Eliud for winning this award. This initiative expresses the will of sports journalists to continually recognize and honour our sportsmen and women," Wanjiku observed.