Female top rally driver among top personalities picked for Sports Woman of the year gong

Female rally driver Maxime Wahome has been nominated in the Sports Woman of the year award for this year’s Sports Personality of the Year Awards slated for Kakamega County on January 19.

The gala which will be held in Western Kenya for the first time is sponsored by the County Government of Kakamega, Lotto Foundation, CPF Financial Services, NSSF and Safaricom.

Wahome who made strides in her debut year as a rally driver, will, however, face stiff competition for the award, from World and Olympic 1,500m champion Faith Chepngetich, Olympic Marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir, Vihiga Queens and Harambee Starlets star player Jentrix Shikangwa, tennis player Angela Okutoyi and volleyball star Sharon Chepchumba.

Wahome who was being navigated by Linet Ayuko on the first season she joined rallying, won the All Ladies crew trophy during the Mountain Gorilla Rally in Rwanda, a leg of the gruelling Africa Rally Championships where she was sixth overall.

She was seventh overall during the Ramisi Rally where she won the Division Two category and she was ranked 14th overall at the first East African Mini Classic.

Maiden appearance

Jepchirchir perhaps needs no introduction in Athletics, the country’s most popular sport after football, following her exploits over the long distance.

The undisputed World Half Marathon champion handed the country its second women’s Olympics marathon title at the Tokyo Summer Games, winning in a time of 2:27.20 seconds.

Further, the 28-year-old made her maiden appearance at the World Marathon Majors in New York on November 17, 2021, proving that the gold medal’s win in Tokyo was no fluke as she won the race ahead of compatriot Viola Lagat.  

But perhaps unbeknown to many , just like many marathoners, she did not partake in many races apart from the Olympics and of course the New York Marathon later in the year.

Chepngetich successfully defended her Olympic gold medal with an Olympic record time of 3:53.11, dominated the Diamond League races and won the Kipchoge Keino Classic race.

Another female athlete who stole the limelight was tennis prodigy Okutoyi who won the International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Tennis Tour juniors grade four championships singles in January and February in Nairobi as well as the doubles.

A go-getter in junior tennis circles, Angela won the Grade 3 Doubles in Cairo, Egypt in August and reached the semifinals in the singles category.