Nairobi — Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet left the Eldoret State Lodge with the best smiles of the lot, as they banked in handsome amounts from their conquest at the Olympic Games, after being rewarded by President William Ruto.
Kipyegon walked home withSh5mn after being rewarded Sh3mn for her 1500m gold and Sh2mn for her 5,000m silver.
Chebet clinched two gold medals and walked home with Sh6mn. Emmanuel Wanyonyi, 20, the newly crowned Olympic champion in the men's 800m, walked home with Sh3mn. Bronze medalists were awarded a million shillings each.
The Head of State hosted all Team Kenya athletes in the City of Champions on Thursday morning to reward and congratulate them for a job well done in Paris, where Kenya finished with 11 medals.
Always reward and celebrate
“As Government we have made a promise that we will always reward and congratulate our sportsmen when they do well. I am proud of your achievements and I thank you for putting Kenya on the global map. To become the best in Africa, and to win four gold medals is no mean feat. There are countries which left Paris with nothing,” President Ruto said as he hosted the Olympians.
He added; “We will always celebrate you when you do well. Look at what happened in Botswana, and it was just one gold medal. We don’t take this for granted.”
The Sports Ministry flew the entire Team Kenya contingent to Eldoret, with the event coinciding with the conferment of the athletics rich region as Kenya’s newest City.
Fitting to reward them in Eldoret
President Ruto remarked: “It was only fitting that we do this in Eldoret on this day because this is the City of champions. There is no better way to do it than with the actual champions.”
During the ceremony, Kipyegon, who was Team Kenya’s captain to Paris, returned the national flag to the Head of State, in a symbolic gesture to show that the work was done.
“As athletes and sportsmen we are really grateful for the support that the government has given us. We were treated very well and we got all we needed. The competition in Paris was very tough. Even me, I was wondering whether I would retain my 1500,” a jovial Kipyegon said.
