Tegla Loroupe (© Getty Images)
Kenya’s Tegla Loroupe, 30, who holds four long distance World records is set to receive the prestigious Georg von Opel Award in Frankfurt, Germany on 16 December this year.
Loroupe who trains in Germany, has to her name the World record marks at 1 hour (18,340m), 20km (1:05:26.6), 25km (1:27:05.84) and 30km (1:45:50), and has been awarded the US$5000 prize in the category of “Athlete of Social Responsibility”
Loroupe is the first Kenyan to receive the Georg von Opel Preis, which is being given to her because of her active involvement in humanitarian projects in both her own country and abroad.
Famous past recipients of the Georg von Opel award include: Jürgen Kinsmann and Michael Stich, among others.
“It was some kind of surprise, it was on the radio and TV but I heard about it from a journalist while in Berlin to support Paul Tergat for the Berlin Marathon.” said Loroupe. “Then I was running for the German World Hunger Organisation."
Asked what she will do with the money, she answered, “I will give it to the school that I am building in my region”.
The Tegla School Project is in collaboration with the World Vision Organisation. Tegla is building the Tegla Loroupe Academy in which priority will be given to children whose parents cannot afford to send their children to school. Tegla comes from the Pokot tribe who are a nomadic people. It will be a formal structured educational establishment that will do much to enhance the welfare of the community.
Loroupe also has other humanitarian projects in hand. On December 13th, 2003, a 10km peace race is being organised in her Pokot region. Tegla originally planned to organise a peace race for women but local politicians encouraged her to do so on a much larger scale in order to promote peace in the region.
Elite athletes, the likes of Paul Tegat (KEN) and Berhane Adere (ETH) are expected to participate, as well as Kenya’s Minister of Sport, Culture and Gender, Mr Najib Balala and other Kenyan politicians. Leading figures from neighbouring Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania and Somalia have also confirmed their participation.
Tegla is a worldwide peace activist and has used her talent, among others, to run for peace in Indonesia after the terrorist bombing last year. She is also an ambassador for the “Right to Play” which promotes Aids awareness worldwide and is a fervent supporter of various international world food organisations.
IAAF
