It was all joy and relief for Bosuben Benard Kipkemoi after he received his prize money and can afford an air ticket back to Kenya.
His Ksh352,438 (£2,500) cash prize from the Standard Chartered Jersey Marathon and Ksh211,462 (£1,500) from the Yorkshire Marathon totaling Ksh563,901 was paid on Thursday, October 27.
"Everything is okay now. I was very worried but I have been able to arrange my ticket and will leave London at 8 pm," the athlete told the Jersey Evening Post (JEP).
Kipkemoi had won the Standard Chartered Jersey Marathon held on October 2 but was yet to receive the cash prize.
On October 16, Kipkemoi also won the Yorkshire Marathon. He clocked in 2:21:09 at the Jersey marathon and 2:22:56 at the Yorkshire Marathon.
Following the inconvenience, the athlete was left stranded in the UK as he could not afford an air ticket to travel back home.
"It is a very stressful situation for me, I do not have money to pay for a flight. I want to go home to see my family," he told the Jersey Evening Post.
According to the event organizers who spoke to JEP, the payments have a three to four-week approval period.
"All invited athletes are made aware of this payment process before attending the event. All payments have been approved for this year and so we would expect to make all payments in the next day or so," he told JEP.
Kipkemoi further found himself in a corner, with his traveling visa expiring on Friday, October 28. The athlete was subsequently worried about the consequences if he overstayed.
"I am worried there will be big problems and it may be impossible for me to come back to the UK again. I just need enough to pay for the ticket so I can leave before my visa expires," he added.
The father of four was ecstatic to finally travel home after weeks of agony.
