World record holder Eliud Kipchoge on Friday night received awards for the 2019 Sports Personality of the Year and Sports Man of the Year during the 16th edition of Sports Personality of the Year Awards (SOYA) that took place in Mombasa.
Kipchoge has had a successful run and won a number of awards after his stunning performance in Vienna, Austria where he became the first man to finish a full marathon in under 2 hours after clocking 1 hour, 59 minutes and 40 seconds in the INEOS 159 challenge.
The athlete nonetheless remained humble in his speech and pointed out that sports should be used to promote unity.
Am overwhelmed for this victory. Human beings have two legs but I have another extra leg. Sports is the only way to unite Kenyans," he stated as quoted by The Standard.
Kipchoge who has grown to be an icon for many and even placed Kenya under the spotlight in the entire world added that his dream is to unite Kenyans through sports.
According to Kipchoge, there are no regrets in sports.
"If you want to have freedom, get into sports and you will never regret. My legacy is not to build houses but to see sports bring Kenyans together," Kipchoge said.
Hellen Obiri was crowned the Sports Woman of the Year.