On Sunday world marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge received a top state award from Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Kipchoge received the Elder of the Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya (E.G.H.) award during the country’s national Mashujaa Day celebrations in Mombasa.
Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya is the highest category of presidential awards.
The Elder of the Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya (E.G.H.) is often given to top state officials like the Deputy President, Speakers of Parliament, Cabinet Secretaries, the First Lady, the wife of the Deputy President, Head of Public Service and the Kenya Defence Forces’ (KDF) Chief of Staff.
This month Eliud Kipchoge become the first athlete to run a marathon in under two hours.
He covered the 42.2km distance in one hour 59 minutes 40 seconds in the Ineos 1:59 Challenge in Austria’s capital, Vienna.
It will not be recognised as the official marathon world record but the Kenyan has been celebrated for his achievement.
#NoHumanIsLimited pic.twitter.com/Ca8WlDfz5G
— Amb. Monica Juma (@Diplomacy_Kenya) October 20, 2019
Kenyans must emulate Kipchoge
President Kenyatta on the back of Kipchoge’s achievement urged Kenyans to emulate him.
“His latest conquest shows that through integrity, hard work and commitment to excellence we can achieve all we set our minds to do.
I urge all Kenyans to follow Kipchoge’s example and become Shujaas in their respective fields,” Uhuru said.
He adds that “the presidential award caps what has been a fantastic year for Kipchoge who won the London Marathon in April in a new course record time of two hours, two minutes and 37 seconds before busting the two-hour marathon barrier in Vienna, Austria by clocking 1:59:40 during the “INEOS 1:59 Challenge”.
The President said Mashujaa Day is a day to collectively honour all those who participated in the struggle for independence as well as those who positively contributed towards the development of post-independence Kenya. @WilliamsRuto #Mashujaa2019 pic.twitter.com/WK0inJhJSp
— State House Kenya (@StateHouseKenya) October 20, 2019
Following his historic achievement Kipchoge said “This shows no-one is limited. Now I’ve done it, I am expecting more people to do it after me.”
In 2017 Kipchoge missed out by 25 seconds in a previous attempt at the Italian Grand Prix circuit at Monza in 2017.
Source: Africafeeds.com
