Eliud Kiplagat Wins AIMS Award
World record holder Eliud Kipchoge and three-time Berlin Marathon champion Gladys Cherono have been named the 2018 Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) best Marathoners.
“The AIMS athletes’ nomination committee has decided that for this year (1 October 2017 to 30 September 2018) Kipchoge and Cherono were the outstanding candidates for the awards based on their performances over the past 12 months.”
Kipchoge is undefeated in the marathon in 2018, winning in London and Berlin. His victory in Berlin was in a world record of 2:01:39, taking 78 seconds off the previous record – the biggest single improvement on the world record for more than 50 years.
Cherono won the Berlin Marathon in a world-leading time of 2:18:11. She finished fourth at the London Marathon earlier in the year in 2:24:10.
Kipchoge, however, will not attend the 2018 AIMS Awards in Athens, Greece happening today.
“I am humbled to be awarded the AIMS marathon athlete of the year award. Unfortunately, I can’t be there in person but wish you all a wonderful gala,” he said in a video posted on Twitter.
The achievements of the two Kenyan athletes will receive global recognition during the AIMS ‘Best Marathon Runner’ Awards Gala in Athens, Greece on Friday 9 November.
