This archive report was first published on 15 January 2020.
2019 Soya Gala Nominees Announced ¶
Kenya's top athletes and officials will be feted for their exemplary performance in the 2019 season at the Safaricom Sports Personality of The Year Awards (SOYA) gala scheduled for January 17 at the Mombasa Sports Club.
Among the nominees for the 2019 Sportsman Living with a Disability category are Vincent Mutai, who won three gold medals in the International Para Athletics Championships last year, and Samuel Mushai, the 2018 Sports Personality of the Year.
Mutai, who scaled 6.36m to win the T46 long jump title and clocked 11.89 seconds to win the 100m title at the 4th International Para Athletics championship in Morocco, will face off against Mushai, who has won the category twice and successfully defended his 5000m T11 title in the World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai.
Other nominees in the men's category include Onesmus Mutinda, who won three gold medals in the Special Olympic Games, and John Koech and David Omondi, who starred during the Africa Deaf Championships in Nairobi.
For the women's category, multi-talented Asiya Sururu, who has qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in rowing, and World Para Athletics bronze medallist Nancy Chelagat will face off against Special Olympics athlete Catherine Nyaga, and deaf athletes Beryl Atieno and Ruth Jemurgor.
The gala has Safaricom as the title sponsor, with other sponsors including County Government of Mombasa, Kenya Pipeline, Communication Authority of Kenya, New KCC, Lapfund, Kenya Power, UBA Bank, Nairobi Bottlers, and Kenya Ports Authority.
