Two-time Olympic champion and holder of two world records Faith Kipyegon, is among eleven female athletes who were nominated by World Athletics for the 2023 World Athlete of the Year award. The winners of this year’s World Athletics Awards 2023, will be announced in December. Kipyegon has had a remarkable track season this year, one that saw her become the only woman to win the 1500m and 5000m World titles. She has managed to achieve this feat in the recent World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. She also set history after winning three World Championship titles in the 1500m race in 2017, 2022, and 2023. In June this year, the Kenyan international had in a span of seven days set two World Records in the women’s 1500m and 5000m.

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On 2nd June in Florence, Italy, Kipyegon broke Genzebe Dibaba’s mark to win the 1500m in a record time of 3:49.11. She then went ahead to run a blistering 14:05.20 in the Paris Diamond League for the 5000m record, one that was previously held by Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay. Kipyegon then won bronze in the World Road Running Championships in Riga in September and broke the women’s mile world record when she timed 4:07.64 in the Monaco Diamond League. However, Diamond League champion Winfred Yavi, Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa will be standing in her way to win her first World Athlete of the Year award. Other notable names that will be competing for the award include; Femke Bol a World 400m hurdles champion, Sha’Carri Richardson a world 100m champion, and Shericka Jackson the Diamond League 100m and 200m champion. 

The other athletes also included in the list are; Venezuelan Yulimar Rojas who is the triple jump world champion and Diamond Trophy winner, Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh a high jump world champion and Diamond Trophy winner, Haruka Kitaguchi of Japan the javelin world champion and Diamond Trophy winner, and Spanish racewalker Maria Perez the 20km, 35 km world champion and 45 km world record holder. The finalists will be determined in a three-way voting process. Fans can cast their votes online via the World Athletics social media platforms while the World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family will vote by email. The World Athletics Family’s votes and the public votes will each count for 25% while the World Athletics Council’s vote will count for 50% of the final result. The voting will close at midnight on October 28th. After the voting process is concluded, the World Athletics on 13-14 November will then proceed to announce five women and five men finalists.

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(Image: The Star)