Emerging sports personalities and the ones the world will miss
By DAVID KWALIMWA
Several sports personalities stood out during the year 2015, yet there are also those who are sadly gone and will be sorely missed by sports lovers.
1. Micheal Olunga – This is the youngster who took the Kenyan Premier League by storm in 2015. He was an integral part of Gor Mahia’s title winning campaign and the silver lining in Harambee Stars’ otherwise disappointing performances. At only 21, Olunga still has his whole future ahead of him.
2. Julius Yego – Has made a name for himself by triumphing in a sporting discipline no other Kenyan has previously succeeded. His African record javelin throw of 92.72m for a gold medal at the World Athletics Championship in Beijing, China finally announced his arrival on the big stage of international sports.
3. Frank Nuttall – Nobody in Kenya had heard of him before he set foot in the country some time in 2014. Almost all Kenyan football lovers now know him. This after he made history by leading Gor Mahia to the league title without losing a single match in 30 fixtures.
4. Jonah Lomu – Hailed as the first global rugby superstar, the former New Zealand winger died at 40 in mid-November from kidney related complications just days after the All Blacks won an unprecedented third Rugby World Cup title in England.
5. Jules Bianchi – The French Formula One driver died nine months after suffering head injuries in a crash on October 5, 2014, in the Japanese Grand Prix. He was 25 at the time of his death.