Harambee Stars striker Michael Ogada Olunga is among five sportsmen nominated for 2019 male Sport Personality of the Year Awards (SOYA).
The awards gala will be held in Mombasa on January 24, 2020 for the second consecutive year.
Olunga who plies his trade with Japanese side Kashiwa Reysol, will battle it out with word marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge, world half marathon record holder Geoffrey Kamworor, world 3,000 metres steeplechase champion Conseslus Kipruto and world 1,500 metres champion Timothy Cheruiyot.
The 26-year-old former Gor Mahia forward was nominated for the award after an excellent season last year.
The player scored a massive 27 goals for his side, aiding his team back to the Japanese top flight league after one season in the second division.
He was in the Harambee Stars team which represented the country in last year’s edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt, where the team faced eventualcChampions Algeria, runners up Senegal and Tanzania in group matches.
Olunga scored two goals as Harambee Stars defeated Tanzania 3-2, making him the only Harambee Stars player in history to score two goals in an AFCON tournament match.
On the other hand, Kipchoge made a mark when he became the first man in the world to run a full marathon in under two hours, during the Ineos 1:59 challenge in Vienna, Austria last year.