A legend of one of the toughest tests on the planet. Eliud Kipchoge, Marathon record holder, has been named the winner of the 2023 Princess of Sports Award, after the meetings held yesterday and today at the Hotel de la Reconquista in Oviedo, in an edition in which the level of the candidates has been especially high. Athletes of the stature of the tennis player Roger Federer or the gymnast Simone Biles have been surpassed by the unstoppable stride of the person who has run the fastest in all of history the 42.195 kilometers of the most emblematic test, the marathon.
The jury has been chaired by Teresa Perales, and various former athletes, journalists and personalities linked to the world of sport have participated, including Vicente Jiménez, director of Diario AS. The level of the candidacies has made the debate lively, but the decision on Kipchoge has been unanimous. In addition to the aforementioned options for Biles or Federer, the Kenyan has also prevailed over others such as the sprinter Allyson Felix, the karateka Sandra Sánchez, the badminton player Carolina Marín or the motorcyclist Marc Márquez. Kipchoge’s candidacy was proposed by David González, president of the Vetusta Universidad de Oviedo Triathlon club.
Kipchoge was born in Nandi, Kenya, in 1984, and is a legend in the world of athletics. He has the historical marathon mark, with that 2.01.09 achieved in the Berlin test last year. Nicknamed “the philosopher” for his strategy in the race, he is also the only person in history to have managed to complete a marathon under two hours. She did it in Vienna in 2019, with a time of 1.59.40, in a test that was not approved because it was achieved with external help. It was if anything a challenge created to accomplish that feat. Before conquering the marathon, Kipchoge had already stood out from the bottom by becoming an Olympic medalist in the 5,000.
“Kipchoge has become a media star, who with his charisma and performance has elevated the queen event of long-distance athletics to much higher public attention than before it appeared”, as reported by the jury in its ruling. In addition, the Kenyan’s work beyond sports is valued, as ambassador of the Laureus World Sport Foundation or with the creation of the Foundation with his name whose mission is access to children’s education and the protection of the environment”.
The Kenyan will collect his award in October at the Teatro Campoamor in Oviedoalong with the rest of the winners in other disciplines, such as the actress Meryl Streep, winner of the Arts Award or the writer Nuccio Ordine, in Communication and Humanities.