Obiri bags SJAK monthly award

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

Women’s 5,000m Olympics silver medallist Hellen Onsando Obiri was over the moon yesterday when she bagged the Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK)/Star Times’s Sports Personality of the Month Award for being the outstanding Kenyan athlete in August.

Obiri beat very stiff competition from 1,500m world and Olympics champion Faith Kipyegon, world marathon champion  Geoffrey Kirui, 3,000m steeplechase world champion Conseslus Kipruto and Wiyeta Girls Secondary School goal keeper Diana Tembesi.

Star Times Director of Marketing and Public Relations Japheth Akhulia said: “Obiri made the country proud and it is therefore commendable that the sports journalists have singled her out as the best sports performer in the month of August.”

Obiri believes she can overcome the 14:11.15 World Record mark set by Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba in Oslo, Norway on June 6, 2008 in the category if she just trains hard enough.