Wanyonyi duo highlights SOYA Most Promising Boy nominees

History maker Heristone Wanyonyi is among the five sports personalities nominated for the 2021 Sports Personality of the Year (SOYA) Most Promising Athlete (Men) award during the gala night set to be held on 19 January 2022 in Kakamega County.

The World Athletics U20 Championships 10,000m race walk champion is joined in this category by two other gold medalists at the same event in 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi and 1500m champion Vincent Keter. Strathmore Leos and Kenya Simbas Andrew Matoka and Junior golfer Taimur Malik complete the five-man list.

This will be the second time that the National U18 800m record holder Wanyonyi is being nominated for an award of similar magnitude, featuring in the nominees list for the World Athletics 2021 Male Rising Star Award earlier but he missed the ultimate prize.

Wanyonyi clocked a personal best of 42:10.84 slicing his previous time by almost three minutes to deliver Kenya's first-ever walking race gold medal at the global stage in the event held at Nairobi in August.

In the girls category, Vihiga Queens Violet Nanjala is among the athletics-dominated list that has Jackline Chepkoech, Teresia Muthoni, and Purity Chepkirui from athletics, and eleven-year-old tennis girl Selline Ahoya.

Nanjala was instrumental for Vihiga Queens in their CAF Women Champions League campaign, starting from the zonal qualifiers where they emerged CECAFA region winners to the main event in Egypt where they exited the competition at the group stage. In the league, she managed to hit 21 goals to carry the top scorer's gong in Zone B.

Chepkirui, Muthoni, and Chepkoech had a perfect sojourn in the World Athletics U20 Championship, bringing home the 1500m, 3000m, and 3000m steeplechase categories respectively.