Athletics continue to reign in SOYA despite promise from other sports

The 15th edition of the Sports Personality of the Year Awards (SOYA) was hosted at Fort Jesus in Mombasa on Friday and saw athletics scoop almost all the individual awards.

Marathon World record holder and Olympics champion Eliud Kipchoge was deservedly the man of the day winning both the Sportsman of the Year and Overall Sports Personality of the Year awards.

Even though Athletics is mostly a solo sport except of course the relays, the rate at which it has been dominating the SOYA  Awards is alarming and should push other sports to return to the drawing board and find ways of increasing their chances of scooping more awards in the annual awards.

In the Sportsman of the Year category, Kipchoge’s fellow contestants had it all and could have equally won the prize but nothing can match his world record and Olympics title.

Kenya Sevens’ ace Willy Ambaka has had an amazing year and could have easily won but Kipchoge had won the hearts of Kenyans with his Olympic gold medal and world record.

Patrick Matasi, on the other hand, was a key player in helping Harambee Stars qualify for the 2019 African Cup of Nation since last playing in the tournament in 2004. The two, however, could not even come in second as Elijah Manangoi of athletics was the first runner’s up.

The women’s category saw reigning World Boxing Commission (WBC) super-bantamweight women’s champion Fatuma Zarika and Kenya Lionesses’ Janet Okello as probable victors but still they couldn’t beat Beatrice ChepKoech and Hellen Obiri, who came in first and second respectively.

Zarika could not even make three despite giving Kenyans a Spectacle of a fight and victory when she defended her WBC championship against Mexican Yamileth Mercado in Nairobi on September 2018. Okello managed third.

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Athletics is for sure a great sport in the country’s history but a lot of other sports are coming up and Kenyans ought to spread their love to multiple sports in Kenya so as to help them grow.