President William Ruto and his Deputy Rigathi Gachagua welcomed 1,500m and 5,000m world record holder Faith Kipyegon and sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala to State House in Nairobi on Tuesday.
Kipyegon was ferried from Eldoret to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Kenya Air Force Plane and received by Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba and Nairobi County Governor Johnstone Sakaja, befored heading to State House.
During the congratulatory speeches, Rigathi Gachagua hailed Faith for her diligence in sports as he urged her to be smart on how she manages her earnings.
Riggy G also offered to help her in her investment choices.
“As I congratulate Faith, I want to ask our athletes to be prudent in the way they invest their earnings they get out of their accomplishments. It is very saddening when we people who have been very successful and famous live in poverty after retirement,” he said
Adding;
“I urge Faith and Omanyala and everybody else to look for ways of investing. And Faith should you have a problem in knowing how exactly you can invest whatever you are going to earn, I am available. I am a prudent businessman; I can guide you around to make sure you succeed,” stated Gachagua.
Kipyegon set a new world record as well as the national record in 1,500m when she won the Florence Diamond League on June 2 in Italy before breaking the 5,000m world record a week later with an explosive victory in the Paris Diamond League, France.
Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia held the previous 1,500m World record of 3:50.07 set in Monaco in July 15, 2015, while Gidey Letesenbet Gidey also of Ethiopia held the previous 5,000m world record of 14:06.52 attained in Valencia, Spain on October 7, 2020.
