Kiptum posthumously nominated for Sportsman of the Year award

In honor of the late Kelvin Kiptum, the 2023 Sports Personality of the Year Award (SOYA) has been rescheduled to 1 March at KICC.

While making the announcement, the organisers of the event, founded in 2004 by former world marathon holder and IOC member, Dr.Paul Tergat, released the list of nominees for the Sportsman of the Year with the departed world marathon record holder Kiptum headlining the list.

The event was initially scheduled for 23 February but Kiptum’s demise forced the organisers to reschedule seeing as the marathoner will be laid to rest on 24 February.

The 24-year-old Kiptum, who had joined forces with wearables company Amazfit ahead of this year’s Rotterdam Marathon where he was targeting to go under 2 hours in an official race in the classic distance, unfortunately, passed away on Sunday 11 February alongside his coach in a grisly road accident.

In 2023, Kiptum, who made his marathon debut in Valencia 2022 clocking the fastest debut time of 2:01:53, broke the world record to become the first man to break sub 2:01.

He started the year with a course record in just his second marathon in London, winning in 2:01:25 in April.

He then headed to Chicago in October as a favourite and lived up to his billing, posting a negative split for a 2:00:35 world record.

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The departed marathon great who only got the opportunity to showcase his talent in the classic distance for only 10 months is vying for the prestigious award alongside athletics compatriots Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Daniel Simiu Ebenyo as well as Shujaas’ Patrick Odongo and Wafalme Stars’ Simon Kipkorir.

Wanyonyi had a spectacular 2023 that saw him win a senior World Championships silver medal in 800m, at just 19. He finished his season by winning the Diamond League title with a world-leading PB of 1:42.80.

The 2021 world U20 gold medalist also won Diamond League races in Rabat, Paris, and Xiamen and formed part of Kenya’s victorious world cross-country mixed relay team, feats that saw him named the Rising Star in the World Athletics awards held in December.

Ebenyo, oh his part won a world championship silver in 10,000m and settled for the same position at the World Half marathon championship in Riga.

He recorded 26:57.80 when winning at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Brussels. He finished the year in third place on the season's top list and second on the world Athletics rankings.

Odongo stared for Shujaa in the Challenger series while Kipkorir became the first Kenyan man to lift the coveted CAVB Club Championship title with his Tunisian club MS Boussalem and also won a personal accolade, being named the best blocker in the continent, another first for any Kenyan man.