The highly anticipated 'Night Under the Stars, with the Stars' goes down in the coastal city of Mombasa tonight as the 16th edition of Safaricom Sports Personality of the Year Awards (Soya) goes down at the Mombasa Sports Club.
With no sportsman or woman from outside athletics having won the overall title since the introduction of the category in 2011, all eyes will be on who walks home with the main prize this evening.
Muscle woman Evelyne Okinyi Owala is eyeing to upset form books as she flexes against world-beating female athletes for the Sports Woman of the Year award.
Owala has World champions Hellen Obiri (5,000m), Ruth Chepng’etich (Marathon) and Beatrice Chepkoech (3,000m steeplechase) as well as World Marathon record holder Brigid Kosgei to contend with in her category.
Harambee Stars striker Michael Olunga is aiming to claim a first for football when he parades alongside a horde of athletics heavyweights including World 1,500m champion Timothy Cheruiyot, Olympic and World champion Conseslus Kipruto, World Half Marathon record holder Geoffrey Kamworor and World Marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge for the Sportsman of the Year award.
Olunga became the first Kenyan to score a brace at the Africa Cup of Nations as he spurred Kenya to a 3-2 victory against Tanzania in the group stage in Egypt June last year. At club level, Olunga — who plays for Kashiwa Reysol in Japan helped the side gain promotion to the J-League, Japan's topflight league.
Kipchoge, will however start as odds on favourite to win the category and probably the overall title.
'The No Human is Limited' star started the year with victory at the London Marathon in a course record time 2:02:37. Then on October 12, he became the first man to run the marathon in under two hours when he clocked 1:59:40 at the 'Ineos 1:59 Challenge' in Vienna, Austria.
Cheruiyot claimed his maiden World 1,500m title in Doha a few weeks after retaining his Diamond League trophy.
Kipruto battled to retain his World 3,000m steeplechase title while Kamworor took 17 seconds off the World Half Marathon record at the Copenhagen Half Marathon, winning the race in 58:01 in September and his second New York City Marathon in November.
Vincent Mutai, who won an unprecedented three gold medals at the International Para Athletics Championships last year, and the 2018 Sports Personality of the Year Samuel Mushai are among the nominees for the Sportsman Living with Disability Award.
Multi-talented Asiya Sururu, who is set for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in rowing and World Para Athletics bronze medallist Nancy Chelagat highlight the Sportswoman Living with Disability category.
The County Government of Mombasa partnered with Safaricom to sponsor the event alongside other facilitators.
