This archive report was first published on 24 November 2019.
Kenyan marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge has been crowned the 2019 World Athletics Male Athlete of the Year, retaining the award at the World Athletics gala in Monaco on November 23, 2019.
At 35 years old, Kipchoge beat four other contestants to take home the award, including World Cross Country and World 10,000m champion Joshua Cheptegei from Uganda, World 200m champion Noah Lyles (USA), World 400m hurdles champion Karsten Warholm (Norway), and World pole vault champion Sam Kendricks (USA).
Although Kipchoge was not present at the gala, he accepted the accolade in a telecast interview, saying, "It was really a special moment for me becoming the first human being to run under two hours. I am happy to inspire a whole generation."
"It was really a special moment for me becoming the first human being to run under two hours. I am happy to inspire a whole generation," said Kipchoge. World 800m record holder David Rudisha was the first Kenyan to win the accolade in 2010. Other winners at the gala included Dalilah Muhammad from the USA, who won the Female Athlete of the Year Award, and Colm O'Connell from Ireland, who coaches Rudisha and won the Coaching Achievement award.
