Vivian Cheruiyot awarded as Best Sportswoman of the Year Kenyan athlete Vivian Cheruiyot poses for photographs with her award at the 2012 ...

Vivian Cheruiyot awarded as Best Sportswoman of the Year

Kenyan athlete Vivian Cheruiyot poses for photographs with her award at the 2012 Laureus World Sports Awards, central London, February 6, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

LONDON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan runner Vivian Cheruiyot won the Laureus Award on Monday as the best Sportswoman of the Year.

She snatched gold medals of both 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the World Championships in Daegu.

One of the great distance runners of this generation, Cheruiyot, 29, ran a final kilometer in the 5,000 meters competition of 2 minutes and 41.76 seconds, the fastest ever in World Championship history.

In the 10,000 meters, she finished as her personal best with 30 minutes 48.98 seconds. Earlier this year Cheruiyot won the World Cross-Country Championship in Punta Umbria in Spain.