The 5000m world and Olympic champion Joshua Cheptegei has donated one of his medals at the just concluded games in Tokyo to, Stephen Kiprotich but also part of his cash prize to fellow athletes.
Cheptegei won a gold medal the men’s 5,000m finals and silver in the men’s 10000 metre finals in Japan.
On Friday, telecom giants MTN rewarded Uganda’s athletics team that participated in the games with a sum of shs175.5 million to be shared among the 17 athletes, five coaches and three administrators.
The money included shs50 million each for Peruth Chemutai and Joshua Cheptegei for winning gold for the country.
It was also revealed that Cheptegei is also set to be given another sh25 million for the silver medal and Jacob Kiplimo shs10 million for his bronze medal at the games.
However, at the function, Cheptegei gave away one of his medals to Stephen Kiprotich to thank him for providing inspiration saying he expects to get another one during the Olympics games in Paris in 2024.
The 5000m world champion also gave away part of his shs75 million cash prize money received from MTN to fellow athletes.
MTN Uganda CEO, Wim Vanhelleputte said the rewards to the athletes was in appreciation for flying the country’s flag high
“The performance of our athletes is a demonstration of growth for Uganda’s athletics. They achieved both as individuals and as a team comprising the coaches and support staff. MTN has also chosen to offer a token of appreciation for the entire team,”Vanhelleputte said.
“We salute the big strides the sport is making, and we remain committed to facilitating the progress and success of Ugandan Athletics through our partnership with the federation.”
Dominic Otuchet, the Uganda Athletics Federation president applauded the telecom company for sponsoring them since 2004.