History-girl Faith Kipyegon wins another award
Double world record holder Faith Kipyegon (centre), receives an LG Wi-Fi enabled dish washer, presented by Sports Journalists Association of Kenya President, James Waindi (left) and Maureen Kemunto, LG Electronics East Africa, Corporate Communications Manager during a ceremony at the Global Sports Communication Kaptagat Camp in Elgeyo Marakwet County on July 5, 2023.
What you need to know:
- The Kenyan middle distance running queen would then shock the world eight days later when she not only floored pre-race favourite Letesenbet Gidey but also shattered the world 5,000m record held by the Ethiopian.
- Kipyegon timed 14 minutes and 5.02 seconds for victory in the Paris Diamond League on June 9 in the French capital.
Double world record holder Faith Kipyegon can't stop winning.
The 29-year-old was on Wednesday named the LG/Sports Journalists Association of Kenya Sports Personality of the Month for June.
Double world record holder Faith Kipyegon (centre) speaks to journalists after she was named the LG/SJAK Sports Personality of the Month for June at the Global Sports Communication Kaptagat Camp in Elgeyo Marakwet County on July 5, 2023.
Kipyegon started the month well, breaking the world 1500 metres record in the Florence Diamond League on June 2 after clocking 3:49.11 to erase the previous record set by Ethiopia's Genzebe Dibaba in 2015 by 0.96 seconds. Dibaba won in 2015 Monaco in 3:50.07.
Kenya's Faith Kipyegon reacts as she wins the Women's 1500m event, setting a new world record of 3:49.11, during the Wanda Diamond League 2023 Golden Gala on June 2, 2023 at the Ridolfi stadium in Florence, Tuscany.
The world record is the only thing that was missing from Kipyegon's trophy cabinet, having won the world title in 2017 and 2022 and the Olympic gold medals in 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo.
Briton Laura Muir finished second in 3:57.09 as Australia Jessica Hull came third in a national and area record time of 3:57.29.
Kenya's Faith Kipyegon reacts after winning the Women's 1500m event, setting a new world record of 3:49.11, during the Wanda Diamond League 2023 Golden Gala on June 2, 2023 at the Ridolfi stadium in Florence, Tuscany.
The Kenyan middle distance running queen would then shock the world eight days later when she not only floored pre-race favourite Letesenbet Gidey but also shattered the world 5,000m record held by the Ethiopian.
Kipyegon timed 14 minutes and 5.02 seconds for victory in the Paris Diamond League on June 9 in the French capital.
Kipyegon overtook previous record holder Gidey with 600m to go, beating the previous record of 14:06.62 set by the Ethiopian on July 10, 2020 in Valencia, Spain.
Kenya's Faith Kipyegon poses after breaking the World record in the women's 5000m event during the IAAF Diamond League "Meeting de Paris" athletics meeting at the Charlety Stadium in Paris on June 9, 2023.
Kipyegon walked home with a trophy and a Wi-Fi enabled dishwasher courtesy of the award's sponsors LG Electronics in a short ceremony held at the Global Sports Communications Camp in Kaptagat.
Double world record holder Faith Kipyegon (centre) poses with the trophy with Sports Journalists Association of Kenya President, James Waindi (left) and Maureen Kemunto, LG Electronics East Africa, Corporate Communications Manager during a short awards ceremony at Global Sports Communication Kaptagat Camp in Elgeyo Marakwet County on July 5, 2023.
This is the second time Kipyegon is winning the monthly award. She was named the LG/SJAK Sports Personality of the Month for August 2022 after the World Championships in Oregon, USA last year.
“I’m so happy to be among the few athletes to win this award more than twice and I’m glad the corporate entities acknowledge the good work of athletes. I'm thankful to LG for their efforts to always support and encourage sportsmen and women in this country. The win in Florence boosted my confidence and I feel I have to continue pushing for better performance in my career,” said Kipyegon.
Kipyegon beat five other nominees among them Commonwealth Games champion Beatrice Chebet who clinched the 3,000m title at the Oslo Diamond League in eight minutes, 25.01 seconds, which also was also her personal best and world leading time.
Other nominees were Carl Tundo and McRae Kimathi for their impressive display in the WRC Safari Rally WRC2 and WRC3 categories, Moses Shumah for scoring Harambee Stars' solitary goal at the Four Nations Tournament, Emma Wangila Nekesa for being the only African wrestler and Kenyan to have qualified for the World Beach Games.
Maureen Kemunto, Corporate Marketing and Communication manager LG East Africa, said: “The purpose of this award is to recognise exceptional Kenyan sportsmen and women for their achievements across diverse disciplines each month and also to signify our commitment to contribute to the development of sport in the country."
SJAK President James Waindi thanked LG for their continued support over the past eight years.
“Rewarding sportsmen and women is an important step towards whipping up the enthusiasts of sports personalities across all disciplines,” said Waindi.
