Kipchoge named best male athlete at Tokyo 2020
Eliud Kipchoge has been named the best male athlete of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The Kenyan athlete was handed the gong by the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), at the Awards Gala held in Crete, Greece.
Kipchoge, the World Marathon Record Holder, made history in Tokyo in August by becoming only the third man to win back-to-back Olympics Marathon gold after Ethiopia’s Abebe Bikila and Germany’s Waldemar Cierpinski.
He was awarded by the president of the Association of National Olympics Committee of Africa, Mr. Mustapha Berraf at the Open Air Theatre of the Creta Maris Beach Hotel.
“When you win two Olympic gold medals back-to-back, it’s making history because only three people have done it, I’m happy to have done that in the year 2020 in the Tokyo Olympic Games,” Kipchoge said.
Adding, “The Tokyo 2020 Games was important Olympics ever because it brought hope to the whole world after the Covid-19 crashed the whole world. I enjoyed the track and field for 10 years, and it is good I made a huge transfer to the road and make a huge mark and inspire the whole world to love the sport and spread positivity.”
Kipchoge was nominated for the awards alongside Karsten Warholm, Damian Warner, Miltiadis Tentoglou, Daniel Stahl, Pedro Pichardo, Ryan Crouser, Joshua Cheptegei, Mondo Duplantis and Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
Kenya was the best ranked African country at the international sporting event, garnering four Gold, as many Silver and two bronze medals.
Kipchoge is also in the running to win the Male Athlete of the Year award following his nomination by World Athletics.