Jelimo Wins IAAF $1 Million Jackpot

Written by Kevin Johnson-Azuara | September 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Pamela Jelimo collected the $1 million she won in the IAAF Golden League in style, when she cruised to victory in the women’s 800m, clocking a meet record of 1 minute, 56.41 seconds in Stuttgart, Germany. The Golden League jackpot goes to athletes who win their event in all six stops on the sport’s most lucrative tour and the 18-year-old Kenyan was the only one to do so. But to actually take home the prize, the winners also have to show up at the World Athletics Final. Jelimo did and, in the process, increased her purse by another $30,000 given to first-place winners here.

The Kenyan teenager, who only started running the two-lap race this year, was unbeaten in her 12 finals this year, including the Olympics in Beijing last month. The Olympic Champion did not run hard right from the start, but World Champion Janeth Jepkosgei of Kenya finished second (1:58.41), while Briton Marilyn Okoro was third with 1:58.64. Remaining unbeaten, this was Jelimo’s 14th win in a row. “Today I did not have any tactics,” Jelimo said. “I am a sprinter. So I can always rely on my final speed.” Regarding next year the African record holder, and World Junior record holder, (1:54.01) said: “I guess that I have even more talent than I showed in 2008. Next year I want to run even faster.” » Read more…

Tags: , Eseret Defar, Ethiopia, Golden League, IAAF, Kenya, Pamel Jimelo, Paul Koech