Kadiri mnavyozidi kuongea pumba, ndivyo jamaa anazidi kuneemeka. Ila pia shukrani kwa Watanzania ambao wametoa hongera, sio wote wenye roho za kishetani.
Eliud Kipchoge crosses the finish line.
Image: REUTERS
Is world marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge set for another international accolade?
Just two days after becoming the first man to run under two hours in the 42km race, Kipchoge has been nominated for the 2019 IAAF Athlete of the Year, whose awards gala will be held next month.
Kipchoge headlines a list of 11 athletes most of whom capped a stellar season with impressive performances at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
From Kenya, Kipchoge will be joined by world 1,500m champion Timothy Cheruiyot, who is also the two-time Diamond League trophy winner over his speciality. He also won 10 out of 11 indoor races.
Kipchoge, who won the award last year, created history in Vienna, Austria on Saturday by running a sub-two-hour marathon for the first time, clocking 1:59:40.
He holds the world marathon record of 2:01:39, clocked at the 2019 Berlin Marathon and also won the London Marathon in April this year by posting a course record time of 2:02:37.
World 800m record holder and two-time Olympic champion, David Rudisha, is the only other Kenyan to have bagged the coveted award, in 2010.
Uganda 's 10,000m world champion Joshua Cheptegei makes the cut for the award after a superb season where he bagged gold in the 25-lap race early this month in Doha.
The Commonwealth Games double champion also won the 5,000m Diamond League trophy and won the world cross country senior title in Aarhus, Denmark in March.
There are five Americans for the award, led by world 100m champion, Christian Coleman.
Coleman won the world crown in a world-leading time of 9.76 as well being part of the US 4x100m relay team which won the world title, in addition, to winning four out of five races in the Diamond League.
World 200m champion Noah Lyles had an outstanding season where he ran 19.50, the fourth-fastest time over the distance in Lausanne as well winning Diamond League titles in both the 100m and 200m respectively. He anchored the United States' 4x 100m relay team to the title at the World Championships in Doha.
World 800m champion Donovan Brazier, a surprise winner in the two-lap race in Doha, makes the list. He won the event in championship record in 1:42.34 and dominated the Diamond League races winning the trophy and winning four of his five outdoor races.
Christian Taylor, who clinched a fourth world long jump title in Doha will fancy his chances. Taylor added the Diamond League title to his world crown and won 10 out of 14 events.
World pole vault champion Sam Kendricks is the final American on the list. Others up for the gong include world discus champion Daniel Stahl of Sweden and World 400m hurdles champion Karsten Warholm of Norway.
A three-way voting process will determine the finalists.
The IAAF Council and the IAAF Family will cast their votes by email, while fans can vote online via the IAAF's social media platforms. Individual graphics for each nominee will be posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram this week; a 'like' on Facebook and Instagram or a retweet on Twitter will count as one vote.
The IAAF Council’s vote will count for 50% of the result, while the IAAF Family’s votes and the public votes will each count for 25% of the final result.
Voting for the Male World Athlete of the Year closes on November 4. At the conclusion of the voting process, five men and five women finalists will be announced by the IAAF.
The male and female World Athletes of the Year will be announced live on stage at the World Athletics Awards 2019.
From Kenya, Kipchoge will be joined by world 1,500m champion Timothy Cheruiyot.