MBALE – Ugandan world record breaker for the 5000M track race Joshua Cheptegei has been rewarded UGX. 123,536,000 by the MTN Uganda. Besides the cash prize, he received 12GB of data, 35 voice minutes and 36 SMS for one year to symbolize the world record time.
Cheptegei made history on August 13, 2020 at the Diamond League meet in Monaco with 12.35.36 breaking the 16-year 12.37.35 record set by Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Wim Vanhelleputte, the Chief Executive Officer MTN Uganda said “In sport, recognizing and rewarding milestones is widely accepted as an essential motivation in getting athletes to reach their peak potential. And so, as Joshua continues to take on other sporting challenges, Uganda ought to recognize and celebrate this remarkable achievement.”
Soft spoken Cheptegei thanked MTN for always supporting Athletes in the country as well as the Uganda Athletes Federation.
“Your critism has made me who I am today, it has discovered the potential I have. It made me understand that i was somebody who was courageous. With that in 2017, I went to become the silver medalist in the world champion behind Me Farah,” he said.
“Set-backs are very important and they propel us to something great. A man stands a test of challenges but those are the things that make people better,” Cheptegei added
Uganda has had great athletes of this generation such as Jacob Kiplimo, Stephen Kiprotich, Halima Nakaayi, Dorcus Inzikuru, Winnie Nanyondo, Moses Kipsiro among others who have made the country proud.
