Kipchoge picked for 2018 Laureus awards

Athletics
Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge stands in front of a clock displaying his time after winning the Berlin Marathon setting a new world record with 2h01m39s on September 16, 2018 in Berlin. / AFP PHOTO

He battles top guns among them basketball great LeBron James and Croatian footballer Luka Modric.

Eliud KIpchoge, the world marathon record holder, has been named alongside sporting stars for the prestigious Laureus World Sports awards.

They include Novak Djokovic (tennis), Lewis Hamilton (Formula 1), LeBron James (Basketball), Kylian Mbappe (Football) and Luka Modric (Football).

Kipchoge became the second Kenyan to be crowned the IAAF World Male Athlete of the Year on December 4.

The honour was befitting of a man who, having come to within eight seconds of breaking previous marathon standard of 2:02:57 ran by Dennis Kimetto in 2014 to win his third London title, Kipchoge turned up in Berlin and shot to record books.

Kipchoge covered one of the sport’s most iconic distances faster than any other athlete in history when he stopped the clock in a scarcely believable 2:01:39 and the feeling is he might have gone even quicker had two of his pacemakers not conked out 15km into the race.

Besides the IAAF award, Kipchoge was also honoured as the 2018 UN Person of the Year as well as the AIMS Male Marathoner of the Year.

He has won all but one of his 11 marathons to date. His 10 fastest times all range between 2:01:39 and 2:05:30. His ‘slowest’ time – 2:08:44 at the 2016 Olympic Games – came in a competition where times are secondary to finishing positions and underlined his ability to win different kinds of races.

Many would say Kipchoge is the greatest in history at the distance and few would argue. There was also little disagreement that he was a worthy winner of the World Male Athlete of the Year award.

The winners will be revealed at a ceremony in Monaco next month. Also nominated is US Open tennis champion Naomi Osaka, who beat 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams, and golf's 14-time major winner Tiger Woods.

 

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