Japan-based striker among those selected for this month’s gala
Harambee Stars striker Michael Olunga is among five male personalities shortlisted for the 2019 Safaricom SOYA Sportsman-of-the-Year Award ahead of this year’s gala night in Mombasa County on January 24.
Olunga will face stiff opposition from the likes of top athletes such as world champion Timothy Cheruiyot, Olympic and world champion Conseslus Kipruto, World Half Marathon record holder Geoffrey Kamworor as well as World Marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge.
In his myriad of achievements, Olunga became the first Kenyan to score a brace at the prestigious Africa Cup of Nations as he helped Kenya beat Tanzania 3-2 in a group stage clash in Egypt in June this year.
And having already taken some impressive scalps at club and national team level, the lanky striker was also voted man of the match for his efforts in the Tanzania match.
The first Kenyan to find the back of the net in the Spanish La Liga some time back, Olunga scored three goals in seven matches for Harambee Stars in 2019 which wasn’t a mean achievement.
At Club level, Olunga who plies his trade for Japanese team Kashiwa Reysol, scored 29 goals and provided nine assists in 33 appearances in all competitions with 27 goals being in the League while two in the domestic cup.
In August this year, Olunga was crowned the player of the month after scoring his first hat-trick for Kashiwa Reysol against Renofa Yamaguchi as they hammered Renofa Yamaguchi 4-1.
Under two hours
Superman Kipchoge hit world headlines when he became the first man on planet earth to break the two-hour barrier in a men’s marathon.
Kipchoge started off the year by winning London Marathon for a record fourth time in a time of 2:02:37. Then in October he became the first man to run the marathon in under two hours when he timed 1:59:40 in a specially arranged race in Vienna.
As for Cheruiyot, he savored an impressive 2019 both locally and in Diamond League meetings winning 10 out of 11 races and that included the ultimate race in Doha where he raced to a first-ever gold medal at the IAAF World Championships. He also won the Diamond League trophy.
Another star making the list is steeplechaser Conseslus Kipruito who is remembered for his ‘magical’ dash in Doha following a troubled 2019 season where he had never won any race before the World Championships in Doha owing to a nagging ankle injury that saw him pull out of several races including dropping out of the race after four laps at the Africa Games in Morocco.
