Kipyegon & Chebet Feted by Prestigious American Academy

Kenyan athletes Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet have been awarded by the Academy of Achievement in the United States of America.

President William Ruto in a statement on Monday, September 23 made the announcement while congratulating Kipyegon and Chebet for the recognition.

“Congratulations Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet for being recognized and awarded by the Academy of Achievement,” said Ruto. 

“The extraordinary honor is a solid tribute to your hard work, talent, and dedication to athletics. No doubt, it will inspire upcoming athletes and help shape our country’s sports.” 

President Ruto joined them during the Dinner of the Golden Plate Award ceremony at the Lincoln Centre Plaza, New York where they were awarded.

Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet feted by the Academy of Achievement

The American Academy of Achievement was founded by Brian Blaine Reynolds, an acclaimed photographer best known for his contributions to Life magazine and Sports Illustrated.

Reynolds established the Academy of Achievement to bring aspiring young people together with real-life heroes, with the Academy’s first annual Banquet of the Golden Plate program being held at Monterey, California in September of 1961.

Also Read: Faith Kipyegon: Details of Prestigious Awards Kenyan Star Has Been Nominated for 

The Academy’s Golden Plate Awards Council annually reviews a broad spectrum of candidates who are inspiring “exemplars of excellence” for possible invitations to the International Achievement Summit.

From this list, the Awards Council – comprised of eminent past honorees of the Academy – selects 30 new honorees.

Fifty illustrious previous awardees join the new honorees at the Summit and participate in the awards presentation at the Banquet of the Golden Plate ceremony.

The highlight of the annual International Achievement Summit occurs on the final evening of the gathering at the Banquet of the Golden Plate.

At the ceremony, each honoree is presented with the Golden Plate Award and the Academy of Achievement gold medal as a “representative of the many who excel” in their chosen professions.

Also Read: Diamond League: Prize Money Faith Kipyegon Will Pocket After Winning 1500m Race

Past Golden Plate honorees include former US Presidents Barack Obama, George H.W. Bush Ronald Reagan, and National Basketball Association (NBA) great Michael Jordan.

Triumphant in Diamond League

Three-time Olympic 1500m champion has been feted days after she showcased her dominance once again in the Diamond League event in Rome on Friday, August 30.

Kipyegon who was making her first appearance since clinching her third consecutive Olympic gold medal in Paris 2024, raced to victory with an impressive time of 3:52.89.

The 30-year-old athlete took to the track in only her second Diamond League meeting of the year, following her record-breaking run at the Paris meeting, where she set a global mark of 3:49.04 ahead of the Olympics.

She ran 3:49.11 in Florence in June 2023 to become the first woman to run under 3:50, lowering the record of 3:50.07 set by Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba.

Less than a week later, Faith Kipyegon shattered the 5,000m world record at the Diamond League event in Paris, France, with a time of 14:05.20 (the record has since been broken by another Ethiopian, Gudaf Tsegay, with a time of 14:00.21).