Kenya’s world marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge was on Tuesday crowned the male athlete of the year by the International Association of Athletics Federations.
This came after the olympics champion set a new world record during the Berlin Marathon where he beat the then record by 78 seconds.
He finished the race in two hours, one minute and 39 seconds.
Kipchoge won the award alongside Colombian tripple-jumper Caterine Ibarguen who was honoured as the female athlete of the year at the awards ceremony.
Several leaders among them President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto took to social media to congratulate him.
“Congratulations (Eliud Kipchoge) for winning the 2018 IAAF Male Athlete of the Year Award. Your dominance in the marathon has not only propelled you to the history books of icons, but has also ensured Kenya remains a world leader in Athletics. We are very proud of you,” wrote Uhuru.
"Congratulations to Eliud Kipchoge for being named IAAF Male Athlete of the Year 2018 at the awards ceremony in Monaco. A legend of the game, Kipchoge deserves the highest accolade for his prowess, consistency, tact, endurance, dominance and strength of character," stated DP Ruto.
Kipchoge's triumph at the world championship marked a major record break in more than five decades since Australian Derek Clayton took almost two and a half minutes off the mark in 1967.
The two winners are both 34 years old and that was their first time to clinch the award.
Kipchoge also participated in a special marathon on the Monza Circuit in Italy where he broke records failing to surpass the 2 hours mark by only 26 seconds. He finished at a time of 2:00:25.
Here is the video:
What a way to end a perfect year for @EliudKipchoge 🇰🇪
Hear from the man himself below⬇️ pic.twitter.com/pw64IXPHui
