The government, on Saturday, October 5, intimated that a special reward for athlete Conseslus Kipruto was in the offing after he retained the men's 3000 metres steeplechase gold at the Khalifa Stadium in Doha.
Taking to Twitter, Kenya Airports Authority, an agency ran by the state, revealed that a billboard bearing a specific image of the athlete moments after winning the race was being prepared.
They further insinuated that the billboard would be displayed at the country's busy Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
The image shows him sitting on a hurdle with one of his fingers on his lips indicating that he might have been in a deep introspection moment.
KAA was responding to a fan who had claimed that Kipruto's historic win deserved a special reward.
"This picture of Conseslus Kipruto should be placed at the international arrivals in JKIA," shared the fan.
Kipruto won the race in a ground-breaking time of 8 minutes and 01.35 seconds and was closely followed by Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma with a 0.01-second difference.
In his celebratory speech, Kipruto revealed that he was able to win the race because of the encouragement he received from many Kenyans who were at the stadium.
“When I heard Kenyans singing and cheering us up in the stadium, I suddenly got the energy to chase Girma to the finish line. I said I was not going to let them down. They gave me the motivation and I dedicate the gold medal to the fans,” he stated.
