President William Ruto has awarded the Kenyan Olympic Team that scooped medals in the just-concluded Olympic Games with bank cheques worth millions.
During the award ceremony on Thursday, August 15, at the Eldoret State Lodge, Kenyan athletes who won gold in the games were awarded Sh3 million.
Their counterparts who won silver and bronze were awarded with Sh2 million and Sh1 million respectively.
Beatrice Chebet went home with Sh6 million after she won gold in both the women's 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres races.
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Faith Kipyegon, who won her third straight Olympic gold medal in the 1500m women's race, received Sh5 million after she also won silver in the 5,000 metres race.
Emmanuel Wanyonyi received Sh3 million after he won gold in the men's 800 metres race at the Paris Olympic Games.
The award is part of a scheme by the Ministry of Sports to compensate Kenyan athletes who triumph at world championships.
Apart from the compensation from the government, gold medalists in the 2024 Paris Olympic games were awarded with Sh6.5 million ($50,000) each from the World Athletics.
Kenya won 11 medals in the 2024 Paris Olympics, i.e., four golds, two silvers, and five bronzes to clinch the 17th position in the world and first in Africa.
Speaking during the ceremony, President Ruto said that the sports fund will be used to benefit sportsmen and women and promote sports infrastructure.
"I gave firm instructions in 2022 that the sports fund will be used for nothing else other than sports. There was an attempt to spread that money to other areas to do many other things. I have given firm instructions that sports fund is for our sportsmen and women and to promote sports infrastructure," the president remarked.
