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Although it is a rarity, some sportspeople have fallen in love and married.
Being a sporting nation, Kenya has produced a number of top athletes across different fields over a very long time.
Although most sporting stars are known for what they play or participate in, some have been made more popular by the fact that they married fellow sportspeople.
From Ferdinard Omanyala, a recently discovered sprinter, to Asbel Kiprop, Pulse Sports looks at couples in the sporting fraternity in the country.
Couples in Kenyan Sports
Asbel Kiprop and Summary Cherotich
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Arguably one of the most outstanding athletes in the country, he has also dealt with a lot of controversial sideshows.
The 1989 star specialized in 1500 metres and won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. This came about after Rashid Ramzi, tested positive for doping. Ironically, Kiprop, who has won three World Championship titles in the event in 2011, 2013, and 2015, failed his own doping test in November 2017 and received a four-year doping ban.
Apart from failing the doping test, Kiprop was expelled from the camp in 2009 for breaking the rules by bringing his girlfriend to the center in another off-pitch controversy.
Meanwhile, Cherotich, Kiprop's wife is a world junior champion in 3,000m and is married to Kiprop. They are among the couples involved in Kenyan sports.
Gilbert Koech and Edna Kiplagat
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Another duo that makes up the couples on the Kenyan sports list.
Although not widely known, Koech participated in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, the Nairobi Kenya Commonwealth Games trials, and the African Athletics Championships in Ivory Coast.
On the other hand, Kiplagat, his wife, who is also a policewoman, is a well-known athlete, having won several awards during her active career, including the 2011 and 2013 world marathons.
The 43-year-old was a winner in the Los Angeles and New York City Marathons in 2010, while her personal best for the distance is 2:19:50 hours, set at the London Marathon in 2012.
She set a record when, at 37, she won the 2017 Boston Marathon in a time of 2:21:52 hours and is also a silver medalist at the IAAF World Championships in London. Kiplagat continued to compete and finished second at the 2019 Boston Marathon. When she won the 2021 Boston Marathon at the age of 41, Kiplagat became the oldest-ever winner - male or female - of a major World Marathon event.
Quite outstanding on the field and is among couples in Kenyan sports.
Timothy Kitum and Faith Kipyegon
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Kitum, born in 1994, is a middle-distance runner and won the Commonwealth Youth Games 800m with a Games record of 1.49.32. He became a silver medallist in the 800m at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics in Barcelona.
After finishing second in Barcelona, he went on to win the bronze medal in the men's 800m race at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Kipyegon is a recent star in the country after breaking world records in the Florence and Diamond League circuits in June. She is regarded as one of the greatest female 1500m runners, having won Olympic titles at the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Games, and world titles at the 2017 and 2022 World Athletics Championships.
At the junior levels, Kipyegon won her speciality event at the 2011 World U18 and 2012 World U20 Championships.
Kitum and Kipyegon are also on the list of couples in Kenyan sports.
Robert Matano and Carol Matano
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Matano is a three-time Kenyan Premier League winner with Tusker and Ulinzi Stars.
An experienced coach who has also managed Bidco United, AFC Leopards, and World Hope, now Nairobi City Stars. As Matano is one of the most successful local coaches, his wife, Carol, is a branch official of Ingwe.
Although low-key, the Matanos are one of the couples in Kenyan sports.
Ferdinard Omanyala and Laventa Amutavi
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Omanyala has shown himself to be a star after recording success in the 100m and 200m races. He has recorded wins in the 100 m at the Commonwealth Games, and the African Championships in Athletics in 2022.
The 1996-Bungoma-born star is the African record holder and the ninth-fastest man of all time in the event after clocking a time of 9.77 seconds in September 2021 in Nairobi.
Amutavi is also a sportsperson, and the couple met in 2016 during the KECOSO Games in Nakuru. Omanyala was turning out for the University of Nairobi, while Amutavi was a Moi University representative.
Omanyala and Amutavi also make up the list of couples in Kenyan sports.
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