Eliud Kipchoge and Caterine Ibarguen have been named male and female world athletes of the year
Kenyan distance runner Kipchoge, who won this year's London Marathon, and Colombian long and triple jumper Ibarguen were honoured at the IAAF athletics awards in Monaco on Tuesday
Kipchoge followed up his London victory by winning the Berlin Marathon just five months later in a world record time of two hours, one minute, 39 seconds
'This award means a lot to me,' said Kipchoge. 'I want to pass my gratitude to my family, my wife and my children – they are my ignition key every morning when I am waking up for training
'Secondly I want to say thank you to my coach Patrick Sang, and to my management Global Sports Communication as they have exposed my career and I am able now to show to all that if you believe in yourself and work hard, you can achieve more
Finally a huge thank you to my sponsors Nike and NN.' Ibarguen, meanwhile, claimed triple and long jump honours in the Central American and Caribbean Games, the IAAF Continental Cup and the IAAF Diamond League finals
She was unbeaten in all eight of her triple jump competitions, ending the year with a world-leading mark of 14
96 metres in her specialist event and a national record of 6.93 metres in the long jump
The 34-year-old was also IAAF Continental Cup and Central American and Caribbean champion in the long and triple jump in a successful year for the Colombian
IAAF President Sebastian Coe and Prince Albert II of Monaco presented the awards at the glamorous event on Tuesday
No comments:
Post a Comment