Olympian Nyamao, Kamworor lined up for State recognition

Olympian Hezekiah Nyamao and world half marathon record holder Geoffrey Kamworor will headline a list of six sports personalities who have been nominated for an award at the 2020 Mashujaa Day celebrations set for Gusii Stadium on Tuesday.

Nyamao together with Charles Asati are the two surviving members of Kenya’s gold medal-winning 4x400m relay quartet at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, Robert Ouko and Julius Sang having passed away.

While Nyamao will represent the legends, while Kamworor, the three-time world half marathon winner will represent the current generation of sports personalities.

Others on the list is former Harambee Stars forward Henry Motego who hails from Kisii County, deaf athlete John Koech who won a gold medal in 1,500m as well as Hellen Wawira (paralympics).

Olympian Rose Tata Muya who is also a member of the Heroes and Heroines council completes the list.

Muya says the list had to be trimmed down from an initial 31 since it will not be possible to travel with all the individuals in the current Covid-19 situation.

“We have dispatched the uniforms to all the county commissioners for other heroes and heroines will not make it to Kisii.

They will be feted in their own regions. So at the nationals, the numbers have to be limited to adhere to the government’s directive on social distance,” said Muya.

Last year, world marathon record holder and Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge was awarded the Elder of the Order of the Golden Heart (EGH) by President Uhuru Kenyatta during the Mashujaa Day celebrations in Mombasa.

Kipchoge received worldwide acclaim by becoming the first man to run the marathon in under two hours when he clocked 1:59:40 in the INEOS challenge in 2019  in Vienna, Austria.

He gained the second most prestigious recognition in the country and became the first sportsman to get that award.