2023 Okpekpe race champion, Ebenyo up for World Athletics Fair Play award

Reigning Okpekpe international 10km road race champion and course record holder, Daniel Simiu Ebenyo is among top stars nominated for the 2023 World
Athletics Fair Play award.

Ebenyo, who ran 28.28 to set a new men’s course record at the gold label Okpekpe road race at the end of May, was silver medalist in the 10,000m event in his
debut at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary in August and at the inauguration World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia
early October.

The 28 year old Kenyan was nominated for the award following his gesture during the closing stages of the men’s half marathon at the Riga event. Ebenyo saluted his teammate Sebastian Sawe as Sawe overtook him for gold.

With less than 200m to go the reigning Okpekpe race champion let the lead go saluting his passing teammate Sawe in what appeared to be a sign for Sawe to go on and bag gold.

In an interview after the race, Ebenyo said the humane part of him informed his decision because sport is not always about winning.

This time, Ebenyo will not be seeking to let go and will be hoping he can win the award against Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey,
Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan, the sprint duo of Shericka Jackson and Sha’Carri Richardson who spontaneously embraced at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest after their respective gold and bronze medal wins in the women’s 200m final.

Others are Nina Kennedy and Katie Moon who, locked in battle, decided to share gold in the pole vault in Budapest and Britain’s Jessica Warner-Judd
who was the only athlete to wait and shake hands with the final placed runner who completed the 10,000m some distance behind the rest of the field.