Uganda’s long distance runner Jacob Kiplimo today won the Fortebet Real Stars Sports Award for the month of February in the athletics category in a ceremony held at Jude Color Solutions shop at Prime Complex in Kampala.
Kiplimo beat competition from World Champion Joshua Cheptegei and Doreen Chesang. He couldn’t make it to the awards event though.
The Fortebet Real Stars Award comes just a day after Kiplimo was unanimously voted as Sports Personality of the month of February by the Uganda Sports Press Association (USPA) assembly on Monday at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala.
Kiplimo is rewarded after he won the 2023 World Cross Country title in 29:17 minutes in Bathurst, Australia last month. At the same event, Cheptegei who was the holder then got bronze behind Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi.
Kiplimo now has both the Cross Country and Half Marathon World titles. He has won a championship medal every year since 2016.
However, other February’s Fortebet Real Stars Award winners are; Rogers Mugisha (football), Yasin Nasser and Ali Katumba (motorsport), Fadilah Shamika (badminton), Jannon Otto (basketball) and Pius Ogena (rugby).
Mugisha picked one man of the match award against Central African Republic at the ongoing U20 AFCON in Egypt that Uganda Hippos exited at the quarter finals stage after falling to Nigeria.
For Yasin and Katumba, they won the first round of the NRC dubbed Mbarara Festival Rally with time of 1 hour, 15 minutes and 15 seconds in their new baby Ford Fiesta R5
However, badminton ace Shamika became the first Ugandan to win gold at All-African Senior championship in Women’s singles that were played in South Africa despite being a junior.
She also won three bronze (Women’s Singles, Doubles, Mixed Doubles) in the Uganda Junior International Challenge 2023.
However, Gazelles (Uganda women’s basketball team) small forward Otto played five games and scored 87 points behind Raneem Elgedawy of Egypt.
Otto, for the award, beat her compatriot Brend Ekone who settled for 84 points.
For Pius Ogena, the Kobs’ eighth man picked the man of the match against Buffaloes. He also has a couple tries which have earned his side a second place on the Rugby Premier League table.
The awards were graced by Fortebet Real Stars Sports Agency CEO, Isaac Mukasa, Mbatidde Resty from Fortebet while Jude Color Solutions was represented by Camilla Namata.
Jude Color Solutions gifted the female winners with hampers ahead of International Women’s Day. Fortebet’s Mbatidde also received the same with the duo representing the two companies urging female athletes to stay competitive.
