Mary Keitany is the winner of the AIMS/ASICS World Athlete of the Year Award, presented at a ceremony held in Berlin on 6 May 2010.
AIMS Director Horst Milde presented the AIMS/ASICS Golden Shoe, an award from the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS), prior to the Big 25 Berlin event on 9 May. Keitany becomes the first Kenyan woman to win the award since Catherine Ndereba in 2001.
Keitany, 28, dominated road running in 2009. She set a new personal best of 32:09 in the World 10K Bangalore in May and won the Lille Half Marathon with 1:07:00, the seventh fastest run of all-time over the distance. She went on to win the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Birmingham, in the second fastest time ever run -1:06:36, leading the Kenyan team to victory. This was all just 15 months after the birth of her son Jared.
The AIMS/ASICS World Athlete of the Year Awards were founded in 1992 and are decided each year from nominations made by the 300 member races of AIMS. Previous winners include Liz McColgan (GBR), Uta Pippig (GER), Tegla Loroupe (KEN), Naoko Takahashi (JPN), Catherine Ndereba (KEN) Paula Radcliffe (GBR), Mizuki Noguchi (JPN), Lornah Kiplagat (NED) and Constantina Dita (ROM).
AIMS President Hiroaki Chosa comments: "I am delighted to acknowledge the achievements of Mary Keitany, who is an exceptional athlete. We recognise her talent on behalf of the 300 members of AIMS from around the globe."
Mary Keitany comments: "I am honoured to join a list of such great winners of this award. I would like to thank AIMS, ASICS and everyone involved. I am happy to be here in Berlin and I am looking forward to taking part in the 25K event."
More than 10,000 entries are expected for the 30th edition of the BIG 25 Berlin, which will also feature a 10km race, a 5×5km relay and a children’s event. All events will finish on the blue track inside the famous Berlin Olympic Stadium.
Peter McLean, Director of Public Relations |
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