As the countdown to the World Athletics Awards 2024 continues, the finalists for the Athlete of the Year honours have been confirmed. There are 12 finalists – six women and six men – in contention for the World Athlete of the Year awards.
Three African athletes made the shortlist for the male and female awards after having an unbelievable and historic season in 2024.
Ruth Chepngetich – Kenya
Ruth Chepngetich shattered the world record by nearly two minutes when she clinched victory at the Chicago Marathon in October, finishing in 2:09:56, the first woman to do so under 2:10. This marked her third win in Chicago and improved her personal best by over four minutes. Impressively, only nine men finished ahead of her. Her halfway split time was 1:04:16.
Letsile Tebogo – Botswana
At the Paris Olympics, Letsile Tebogo made history for Botswana by winning the country’s first-ever Olympic gold in any sport with his victory in the men’s 200m. He clocked an African record time of 19.46 seconds, catapulting him to fifth place on the global all-time list. He also placed sixth in the 100m final and contributed to Botswana’s success in the men’s 4x400m relay, where the team earned a silver medal.
Tamirat Tola – Ethiopia
Though Tamirat Tola was a last-minute addition to the Ethiopian squad for Paris, he seized the opportunity by clinching victory in the marathon with an Olympic record time of 2:06:26. Competing on a tough course amid challenging hot weather, Tola surpassed the previous Olympic best of 2:06:32, which was set by Sammy Wanjiru during the Beijing 2008 Games.
Finalists – Athlete of the Year 2024
Women’s track athlete of the year
Julien Alfred (LCA) – Olympic 100m champion
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) – Olympic 400m hurdles champion
Men’s track athlete of the year
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) – Olympic 5000m champion
Letsile Tebogo (BOT) – Olympic 200m champion
Women’s field athlete of the year
Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) – Olympic high jump champion
Nafissatou Thiam (BEL) – Olympic heptathlon champion
Men’s field athlete of the year
Mondo Duplantis (SWE) – Olympic pole vault champion
Miltiadis Tentoglou (GRE) – Olympic long jump champion
Women’s out of stadium athlete of the year
Ruth Chepngetich (KEN) – world marathon record-holder
Sifan Hassan (NED) – Olympic marathon champion
Men’s out of stadium athlete of the year
Brian Pintado (ECU) – Olympic 20km race walk champion
Tamirat Tola (ETH) – Olympic marathon champion
Voting closes on Sunday 10 November.
The top two leading athletes in each category – track, field and out of stadium – have been chosen from the first round of voting, which comprised votes from the World Athletics Council, World Athletics Family and a public vote on social media.
One of these two athletes will take the crown in their category.
Now, in a new addition to this year’s awards, a final round of voting – cast by fans of the sport – will take place between 4-10 November to decide who the overall World Athlete of the Year is.
The Athletes of the Year in each category, as well as the overall winner, will be revealed at a ceremony in Monaco on Sunday 1 December as part of the World Athletics Awards 2024.
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