An application by Kenyan athlete Edwin Kipchirchir Kemboi for Austrian citizenship has officially been approved.
On Tuesday, the Council of Ministers (Ministerrat) in Vienna officially announce the naturalisation of 59 celebrities, among them 21 sports people.
Kemboi won the Graz-Marathon in 2011 and the Salzburg Marathon in May this year.
The 29-year-old athlete hoped that the process would have been completed before the marathon thus making his win an Austrian one instead of Kenyan. However, the approval was delayed.
The athlete officially relocated to Klagenfurt last year to be close to his Austrian wife, a fellow athlete, Anja Marlene Prieler-Kemboi.
The couple who met in 2011 at a training camp in Austria, now work together to nurture young talent.
Through their sports agency ‘The Kembois – Laufen ohne Grenzen’, the couple helps atheletes from around the world take part in sports events.
In partnership with the Keiyo Foundation, they also coach and manage young runners with the aim of transforming them into international athletes.
-nation.co.ke
