World Marathon champion Jacob Kiplimo, Africa champions Jemimah Nakawala and Farahat Manirola were on Wednesday crowned as October’s Fortebet Real Stars Monthly Winners at Lazio Restaurant.
The 2023 and 2025 Chicago Marathon conqueror continues to script history, after clocking 2:02:23 to become the world’s seventh fastest marathoner and also setting a new national record – breaking his own mark that he set in April 2025.
‘This is about excellence and Uganda’s sports landscape continues to shine on the regional and global stage,’ said Real Star Sports Agency CEO Isaac Mukasa, underlining the weight that these awards carry.
Nakawala’s new class
Table tennis ace Jemimmah Nakawala sealed the accolade after delivering three straight victories which stood superior and decisive for Team Uganda’s qualification to the 2026 London World Table Tennis Championship. Her efforts also helped Uganda clinch a historic bronze at the 2025 ITTF Africa Seniors Championships in Rades, Tunisia.
She beat teammates Pervin Nangonzi and Judith Mirembe for the monthly gong – but her levels of performance were unmatched.
Manirola the stylist
In boxing, stylist pugilist Farahat Manirola was again unplayable. He scooped gold at the East Africa Zone 3 Championship in Kenya and overcame fellow contenders Willy Kyakonye and Aziz Ringo to bag his second Real Stars accolade – having first won one in May last year after lifting a professional belt.
From marathon to table tennis to boxing – these are not random awards. They are a scoreboard of excellence.
TALKING POINT – Consistency counts
The Fortebet Real Stars Awards are now rewarding athletes that are stacking up performances, month-on-month, year-on-year – not one-off results. Uganda rising – you cannot benchmark sporting growth without benchmarking consistency at elite level.
OUTSTANDING NUMBER – 2:02:23
That is Kiplimo’s winning mark in Chicago this year – time that placed him 7th fastest marathoner in world history.
October Winners (Fortebet Real Stars)
Athletics: Jacob Kiplimo
Table Tennis: Jemimmah Nakawala
Boxing: Farahat Manirola