Olympic medallists feted on NRM Day

Peruth Chemutai and Jacob Kiplimo, yesterday, received recognition from the government during the NRM 36th Liberation Day celebrations at Kololo Independence grounds.

The Tokyo 2020 medal winning pair received ‘Golden Jubilee Medals’ from President Yoweri Museveni.

In total, 50 medal awardees were read out by the committee headed by Gen Ivan Koreta.

Chemutai, 22, became the first Ugandan woman to win Olympic Gold doing so in the 3000m steeplechase.

Her compatriot Kiplimo finished third to scoop bronze in the 10,000m final.

The 21-year old Kiplimo is also a world half marathon (2020) and world cross country junior champion (2017).

The pair, along with Joshua Cheptegei, who bagged 5,000m gold and 10,000m silver in Tokyo, each received brand new cars from President Museveni in August as reward for their outstanding performances.

At that luncheon, he also made a promise to build houses for their parents as those four medals made this Uganda’s most successful Olympic Games ever.

The medals meant Uganda finished 37th overall, out of 206 nations and second, behind only Kenya, in Africa out of 54 countries.

Last year, the National Council of Sports (NCS) met its pledge of rewarding all athletes who excelled at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.