800m Commonwealth Games champion Wycliffe Kinyamal is the StarTimes/SJAK Sports Personality of the month of April 2018.
The 21 year old emerging middle distance runner who stunned the world during 2018 event in Gold Coast Australia becomes the tenth recipient of the monthly award.
Kinyamal helped Kenya reclaim the 800m Commonwealth Games title after World Record holder David Rudisha was beaten to second place during the 2014 edition in Glasgow, Scotland.
His gold medal was the first for Kenya in the 2018 Commonwealth games. In the vote by a panel of Sports Journalists, he shook off competition from fellow athletes Conseslus Kipruto who won the 3000m steeplechase gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in a new Games Record and Commonwealth Games 1500m gold medalist Elijah Manangoi.
Other nominees for the April award were boxer Christine Ongare who won a bronze, Kenya’s only medal outside track and field at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and rally driver Manvir Baryan who became the first non-local to win the Rally of South Africa.
A gold medalist at the 2016 East African Junior Athletics Championships in Dar Es Salaam Tanzania where he made his first impact in the 800m regionally, Kinyamal took home a 42-inch digital television set and KSh100, 000 courtesy of StarTimes.
The fast rising athlete is affiliated to Global Sports Communication and is based in Kaptagat Uasin Gishu County.
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An excited Kinyamal said he was surprised by the accolade which is his first.
“This surprise is truly an inspiration as I progress with my athletics career. Glasgow was a good outing for Team Kenya and for me winning Kenya’s first gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. I hope to deliver more medals for Kenya. Thank you SJAK and StarTimes for this award.” An elated Kinyamal added.
SJAK President Chris Mbaisi expressed optimism that Kinyamal’s recognition will motivate other up and coming sportsmen and women to excel in their respective fields. “The monthly award is a modest token to show that efforts by our athletes do not go unnoticed,” he emphasized.
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