World marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge has been named as the UN Person of the Year by the United Nations team in Kenya.
The 33-year-old Kenyan set a new marathon record in September with a time of two hours one minute 39 seconds in Berlin.
He took nearly one minute 20 seconds off the previous best.
He has been recognised for his "extraordinary sports performances, his work on HIV/Aids in Kenya, his endurance, his courage" which embody the ideals of the UN, Unesco tweeted.
Those in the audience at the UN headquarters in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, have also been tweeting from the ceremony:
The @UNAfrica is proud to recognize ELIUD KIPCHOGE, an extraordinary Kenyan who has broken every marathon record, as #UN Person of the Year, for his accomplishments involving initiative, integrity, human endurance, courage and raising awernwss of #HIV/ #AIDS. #UNDay pic.twitter.com/mkMPRmREQi
— Emad Karim (@emadkarim) October 24, 2018
Kipchoge has won the Berlin Marathon and the London Marathon three times each, and holds the record for each course.
Source: bbc