Marathoner Eliud Kipchoge was on Sunday evening crowned the Best Male Athlete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Announcing the win on his social media platforms, Kipchoge said that he was so proud to be the recipient of the award. And thanked all his fans for their great support.
The history maker was awarded for his marathon gold medal at the postponed Summer Games that were held in Tokyo from July to August this year.
Eliud was competing against nine of her athletes among them Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda who is the world 10,000m record holder. And also won gold in 5000m at the summer games.
While receiving the award, the 36-year-old said that he is happy to have won two Olympic medals back to back. Because only three people have done it.
When you win two Olympic gold medals back-to-back, its making history because only three people have done it, I am happy to have done that in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
The President has in a tweet congratulated Kipchoge for his win. The President said the prestigious ANOC Award is a global recognition of Kenya’s prominence as a sporting nation. And advised upcoming athletes to emulate Eliud’s determination, humility, hard work and patriotism as they build their careers.
Other awardees were:
- Best Female Athlete of Tokyo 2020 – Canadian Maggie Mac Neil
- Outstanding Athlete Performance – Cuban Mijain Lopez
- Best Male Team at Tokyo 2020 – Japan National Baseball Team
- Best Female Team at Tokyo 2020 – New Zealand Rugby Team
- Best Male Multiple Athlete Event of Tokyo 2020 – Italy Cycling Track Pursuit Team
- Best Female Multiple Athlete Event of Tokyo 2020 – Estonia Fencing Epee Team
The awards were organized by ANOC to celebrate the achievements of athletes at the Tokyo Games.
Congratulations to Eliud.