It's no doubt that Kenyan athletes rake in millions of shillings from their talents. However, a lot is at stake when it comes to dealing with large sums of money. As American politician and attorney Franklin Roosevelt once said, with great power comes great responsibility.
For professional and seasoned athletes, participating in prestigious global events always bags them millions of shillings in prize money and appearance fees, as well as sponsorship deals.
According to international events official websites, athletes participating in highly competitive events such as New York City Marathon and Chicago Marathon, take home an average of Ksh14.76 million and Ksh11.3 million excluding the bonuses included for breaking course and world records.
Teamkenya.co.ke takes a look at the millions made by some of these athletes.
Eliud Kipchoge
Legendary Kenyan athlete Eliud Kipchoge is praised for his calm, stoic personality despite amassing hundreds of millions in wealth. Redefining the term "No human is limited", Kipchoge is undoubtedly a gamechanger in the athletics industry and the most decorated marathoner of all time.
In 2018, he won the Berlin Marathon, setting a World Record of 2:01:39. The previous record was held by compatriot Dennis Kimetto in 2014.
Kipchoge took home Ksh82 million for breaking the world record and an additional Ksh5.8 million for emerging the winner, according to United Kingdom's website: Express.
The following year in London, he bagged Ksh5.99 million for winning the London marathon.
Recently, he made history by becoming the third man to win two consecutive Olympic marathon titles. According to poddiumrunner.com, he pocketed Ksh9 million each for each race after emerging the victor.
Ruth Chepng'etich
The Dubai marathon is arguably one of the highest paying events in the world, with the winner taking home an average of Ksh17 to Ksh20 million for first place, according to the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon official website. Further, an additional Ksh10 million is given as bonus to athletes who set a world record.
In the case of Ruth Chepng'etich, she scooped the whooping prize money after winning the 20th edition of the event.
Currently, she is a World Championship Gold medalist, a current world record holder in the half marathon distance.
The athlete also won the 2021 Chicago Marathon, taking home Ksh11 million, according to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon official site.
The success of the event earned her a slot as the fourth fastest woman in history at the half marathon distance.
Benson Kipruto and Diana Kipyogei
The two Kenyan athletes recently captured global attention after winning the 125th edition of the Boston Marathon.
Kipruto clocked in at 2 hours, 9 minutes and 51 seconds while Kipyogei broke the tape at 2 hours 24 minutes and 45 seconds.
The duo walked away with Ksh15 million each, the amount the top female and male athletes earn according to the Boston official website.
However, at the race, the highest paid athlete from the race is Robert Kipkoech, former record holder, who is a five time winner of the prestigious event having netted a total of Ksh46.9 million from the Boston marathon event alone.
Geoffrey Kamworor
Little is known about George Kamworor, the Kenyan professional long distance runner who entered elite competitions in his 20s, beginning in junior competitions.
Born in Nyeri, Kamworor's all time record came when he won the New York Marathon on two occasions.
He has further earned three consecutive gold medals at the World Half Marathon Championships as well as consecutive cross country titles.
According to the TCS New York City Marathon website, Kamworor pocketed Ksh11.3 million and an extra Ksh1.75 for setting a course record.
At the 2019 event, Kamworor's colleague Joyciline Jepkosgei took home the Ksh11.3 million cash prize and an extra Ksh5 million as bonus for running the season's best.
Brigid Kosgei
The former Chicago Marathon winner and world record holder has trailblased and broken records in various events.
In 2019, she emerged top with a world record of 2 hours 14 minutes and 4 seconds. According to the Chicago official site, she took home Ksh11 million for clinching the win, an additional Ksh7.5 million for setting a world record and a time bonus of Ksh5.5 million according to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon official site.
In the past, she also won the London Marathon on numerous occasions, in 2019 and 2020, taking home Ksh5.99 million each.
Notable Mention: Kenya's sprinting sensation, Ferdinand Omanyala, has captured the global attention at a moments notice after staging one of the bet performances at the Tokyo Olympics.
He also shattered the continental record by running sub 10 seconds during the Kip Keino Classic at the Kasarani stadium. Previously, he had set a sub 10 (9.96 seconds) at Austria in 2021. Media reports indicated that he was awarded Ksh3.27 million for winning the race.