I first met Tegla Loroupe at the Peace and Sport International forum in Monaco last year and I was delighted to spend a little time with her again at this years forum.

Tegla Loroupe is a 'Champion for Peace' - this is a title given to a number of professional sporting personalities who have become ambassadors, using their sport, to promote peace in countries that have experienced natural disaster and those countries affected by war. This is something Tegla knows of very well.

Tegla is a champion in more ways than one... as a sportswoman she is a world record holder for her long distance running and a three times World Champion for the Half-Marathon. Tegla was the first African woman to win the New York City Marathon, which she has done twice. Marathons in London, Boston, Rotterdam, Hong Kong, Berlin, Rome have also seen her win.

It is her humanitarian work that makes her an even greater champion. As a child in Kenya, she would run up to ten kilometers to get to school. It took many more kilometers before she was accepted, supported and encouraged to compete as a runner. Very quickly Tegla gained the respect she deserved for the work she did in the name of peace, encouraging tribes to run together and developing peaceful communities. And in 2006 she was given the title of 'United Nations Ambassador of Sport' by Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Her passion for sport is her tool to promote and encourage peace. She established a school and an orphanage and is the inspiration not only in Kenya but to the world.

A comment she made to me will stay with me for quite a long time: "It seems the world has forgotten to realise what is important and about the true meaning of sharing."

Tegla Loroupe represents a way forward. For women and children she brings hope and promise.

http://teglapeacefoundation.org/