Commonwealth star Cheptegei retains Athlete of the Year award

Joshua Cheptegei

KAMPALA. Joshua Cheptegei is still recovering from a second beating by his understudy now a senior Jacob Kiplimo at the National Cross-country Championships in Tororo on Saturday.
Nonetheless, the weekend happenings could hardly deny him the Athlete of the Year honour at the 2018 Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF) Awards held at Sheraton Hotel on Wednesday night.
In his absentia, the 22-year-old emerged the best from the three-man shortlist that also had Kiplimo and Stella Chesang to retain the crown he also won the previous year.
Cheptegei inevitably won the prize again after emulating Moses Kipsiro’s 2010 show by winning double gold over the 5000m and 10000m at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in Australia last April.
“I can say it all seemed not at all to be promising in the beginning and towards the end, it all went well,” Cheptegei told Daily Monitor about his incredible year back in December.
In 2018, Cheptegei won six of the seven races he had including a 15K world record while winning the Seven Hills Run on November 18 in Netherlands.
Meanwhile, Kiplimo, who is enjoying a fine spell in the cross-country season, was present and picked the Junior Athlete of the Year prize having claimed 10000m silver at the World Junior Championships in Tampere, Finland.

Athletes of the year

2018: Joshua Cheptegei
2017: Joshua Cheptegei
2015: Solomon Mutai
2014: Moses Kipsiro
2013: Stephen Kiprotich
2012: Stephen Kiprotich
2011: Annet Negesa
2010: Moses Kipsiro
2009: Moses Kipsiro
2008: Moses Kipsiro
2007: Moses Kipsiro
2006: Boniface Kiprop
2005: Dorcus Inzikuru
2004: Boniface Kipropa