Onyango, Cheptegei lead quartet for Uspa top prize

Kampala. The sporting fraternity may have made good inroads into 2019 but the delight from the bountiful of success achieved across the different disciplines in 2018 is still abound.

Even with the tough picks to make, journalists under the umbrella Uganda Sports Press Association (Uspa) picked Denis Onyango, Joshua Cheptegei, Lillian Ajio and Phillip Wokorach as the nominees for the 2018 Nile Special Sports Personality of the Year award. This four-man shortlist was made during the January Monthly meeting at Imperial Royale Hotel on Monday.
The quartet was elated upon nomination ahead of the Awards gala set for a later date in March, according to new Uspa president Patrick Kanyomozi.
“Well, I am really honored to be part of this history and being nominated for the second time,” said Uganda Cranes’ captain and goal keeper Onyango.

The 2016 Uspa Athlete of the Year is the only continent-based player who was recently named in Africa’s Best XI at the Caf Awards having helped the Cranes qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations without conceding a goal.
The Mamelodi Sundowns shot-stopper Onyango is up against long-distance runner Cheptegei who emulated Moses Kipsiro’s 2010 feat by winning the 5000m and 10000m gold at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in Australia.

“I can say it all seemed to be a not all that promising in the beginning and towards the end, it all went well,” Cheptegei told Daily Monitor in an earlier exchange.
Back in November, Cheptegei also set a new 15km world record at the Seven Hills Run in Netherlands.
During the Uspa meeting, Cheptegei’s understudy Jacob Kiplimo was voted as Nile Special December’s best sports personality having won the 54th San Silvestre Vallecana 10km road race in a world record time of in 26 minutes and 41 seconds.

The teenager polled 510 votes to beat the national motocross team which won the FIM Central Africa Motocross Championship and badminton player Brian Kasirye who had 475 and 455 points respectively. Kiplimo will be crowned with October and November’s best tomorrow, according to Uspa vice-president Leon Ssenyange.
Back to the main award shortlist, it has Wokorach being nominated for the third time in a row.

“I am honoured and humbled at the same time,” said the Kabras Sugar player who won the Kenya 7s Championship, was top points’ scorer at the Kabeberi 7s and MVP at Christie 7s.
Wokorach also led Kabras to the Kenya Cup (15s league) and Enterprise Cup (equivalent of Uganda Cup) finals.
For her consistency with the She Cranes, assistant captain Ajio is the last pick having helped Prisons to the national league title and the East Africa Netball Championship. She was a stalwart too as Uganda took sixth place at Commonwealth Games before winning the Africa title to qualify for the 2019 World Cup.

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