Geoffrey Mutai with his 2012 AIMS/ASICS world male athlete of the year award (© AIMS)
Kenya’s Geoffrey Mutai was presented with his second consecutive male AIMS/ASICS World Athlete of the Year award in Ras al-Khaimah on Thursday (14).
Race Director of the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon and AIMS PR Manager for Asia, Nathan Clayton presented Mutai with the acclaimed Golden Shoe Trophy during an awards ceremony at a media event in advance of the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon, which took place today (15) with Mutai finishing third in a PB of 58:58.
Mutai started to post a string of eye-catching performances on the road after his 59:30 win in the Valencia Half Marathon in 2009 – although that was only six weeks after winning the Eindhoven Marathon in 2:07:01 (following up his 2:07:50 victory there in 2008).
In 2010 he improved to 2:04:55 when finishing second in Rotterdam, and second in Berlin only 15 seconds slower than that before rounding off with a 59:38 victory in the Delhi Half Marathon.
In 2011 he replaced his runner-up spots with two sensational victories in the Boston Marathon, where on an ‘assisted’ course he ran the fastest ever time of 2:03:02, and in New York, where he smashed the course record with 2:05:06. He also recorded a personal best for 10km at 27:19 in Boston.
Missing Olympic selection in 2012, Mutai instead won the Berlin Marathon in a world-leading 2:04:15 – but only a second ahead of his training partner, Denis Kimetto. His winning time in the Boston 10km, 27:29, was enough for him to lead the rankings at that distance as well.
“I am delighted to win this prestigious award for a second time,” said Mutai. “The RAK Half Marathon is a great race and I am very happy to be able to receive this award here. I would like to thank AIMS, their members and award sponsors ASICS for presenting me with this trophy.”
“It is an honour for AIMS to recognise Geoffrey with the AIMS/ASICS World Athlete of the Year Award,” said AIMS President Paco Borao. “Geoffrey demonstrated exceptional form last year which is reflected in his achievements.”
The AIMS/ASICS World Athlete of the Year Awards were founded in 1992 and are decided each year from nominations made by the 350 member races of AIMS. Previous male winners include Paul Tergat, Abel Antón, Khalid Khannouchi, Haile Gebrselassie, and the late Samuel Wanjiru.
Previous winners of the AIMS/ASICS World Athlete of the Year.
Year | Male Winner | Female Winner |
1992 | Benson Masya (KEN) | Liz McColgan (GBR) |
1993 | Dionicio Ceron (MEX) | No Award |
1994 | Vincent Rousseau (BEL) | Uta Pippig (GER) |
1995 | No Award | Tegla Loroupe (KEN) |
1996 | Paul Tergat (KEN) | Uta Pippig (GER) |
1997 | Josia Thugwane (RSA) | Tegla Loroupe (KEN) |
1998 | Ronaldo da Costa (BRA) | Tegla Loroupe (KEN) |
1999 | Abel Anton (ESP) | Tegla Loroupe (KEN) |
2000 | Gezahenge Abera (ETH) | Naoko Takahashi (JPN) |
2001 | Josephat Kiprono (KEN) | Catherine Ndereba (KEN) |
2002 | Khalid Kannouchi (USA) | Paula Radcliffe (GBR) |
2003 | Paul Tergat (KEN) | Paula Radcliffe (GBR) |
2004 | Stefano Baldini (ITA) | Mizuki Noguchi (JPN) |
2005 | Jaouad Gharib (MAR) | Paula Radcliffe (GBR) |
2006 | Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) | Lornah Kiplagat (NED) |
2007 | Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) | Lornah Kiplagat (NED) |
2008 | Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) | Constantina Dita (ROM) |
2009 | Sammy Wanjiru (KEN) | Mary Keitany (KEN) |
2010 | Patrick Makau (KEN) | Liliya Shobukhova (RUS) |
2011 | Geoffrey Mutai (KEN) | Mary Keitany (KEN) |