Topping the charts at the IAAF World Under 18 championships athlete Mary Moraa has been nominated for this year’s Safaricom Sports personality of the year Award (SOYA) as the most promising girl.
The Mogonga secondary school student will be in contention with Jackline Wambui, the 800m World Under 18 champion, caren Chebet, the 2,000m world U18 gold medalist, Lawn Tennis player Angela Okutoyi and cricket player Vanessa Adhiambo.
Moraa won silver in 400m during the Kasarani event and guided 4x400m Mixed Relay to silver medal.
The 400m reigning East Africa Secondary Schools champion is well remembered after coming from behind to sprint past a South African boy athlete to ensure the hosts booked a spot in the final.
The Most Promising category is a reward given out annually by a panel of the country’s top sports journalists to reward exceptional performance by the country’s sportsmen and women.
Double world Paralympic Games champion Samuel Muchai leads the nominations for Sportsman living with disability together with his counterparts Jon Koech and Lucas Wanjiru.
Wanjiru was also shortlisted for not only winning gold at the 2017 Deaflympic Games held in Samsun, Turkey, but also breaking the 3000 steeplechase Deaflympic world record with a time of 9.04.62.
Emmanuel Karisa will also rub shoulders with the rest of the nominees for being the only Kenyan to win a medal in the first Africa Paralympic Tae Kwondo Championships held in Rwanda.
Ng’enyilel based Paralympian Nelly Sile has been nominated for women living with disability.
The javelin thrower headlines the list after attaining a distance of 13.41 to settle for position four in the F55 classification at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships. In her attempts, she recorded 12.62m, 12.69m and 13.13m before she got 13.41m.
Sile will battle it out with sitting volleyballer Purity Mueni who was the best server during the Africa championship in Rwanda, Deaflympian Beril Wamira who won two silver medals in the Deaflympics games held in Turkey in the 100m where she clocked 12.59 seconds and the 200m where she clocked 26.58 seconds.
The other contestant is Hannah Wakonyo who won a bronze medal in the 5000m women finals during the Deaflympics with a time of 18 minutes 30.90 seconds and finished 10th in the 1500m.
The 2017 Safaricom Sports Personality of the Year is scheduled to take place early next year as the best in Kenyan sports are awarded for their splendid performance in the entire season.
List of Most Promising Personality of The Year Girl
Mary Moraa (Athletics)
Angela Okutoyi (Lawn Tennis)
Vanessa Adhiambo (Cricket)
Sportsman Living With Disability
Samuel Muchai (Athletics)
Lucas Wanjiru (Athletics)
Daniel Kiptum (Deaflympics)
Emmanuel Karisa (Tae Kwondo)
Sportswomen Living With Disability
Nelly Sile (Athletics)
Purity Mueni (Sitting Volleyball)
Hannah Wakonyo (Deaflympics)
Beril Wamira (Deaflympics).
Additional information Capitalfm