Three Kenyan athletes are in line to win prestigious individual accolades as part of the 2025 World Athletics Awards.
World Athletics formally announced the nominees for the Women's and Men's Track Athlete of the Year awards on Monday, with Faith Kipyegon, Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Beatrice Chebet among an elite list of athletes selected worldwide in their respective categories.
Their nominations are part of the build-up to the annual World Athletics Awards 2025.
As is the tradition, Kenyans will be among millions of fans globally who will have a say on who will win the coveted awards through a social media vote, with the final voting day set on October 19.
How to Vote
Voting was open on World Athletics' social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and X, formerly Twitter. One can vote by simply reacting to or sharing the post featuring one's preferred athlete on any of the platforms.
One interesting bit of the social media voting process is the fact that fans can vote for more than one athlete, and votes across all platforms are counted. With this in mind, the more interaction on a particular athlete's post, the better.
To support either Kipyegon, Wanyonyi or Chebet, therefore, you need to search for their nomination posts on World Athletics' official social accounts and interact with the posts before the public voting period closes on October 19.
This stage of public voting will help shortlist the final two candidates in each category (men and women), after which World Athletics will select the winners.
Nominees for Field Athlete of the Year and Out of Stadium Athlete of the Year are set to be revealed on October 20 and October 27, respectively.
Afterwards, the overall World Athlete of the Year (Men & Women) will be chosen from the winners of these three main categories – Track Athlete of the Year, Field Athlete of the Year, and Out of Stadium Athlete of the Year.
How Kenyan nominees performed
The Kenyan trio of Kipyegon, Wanyonyi and Chebet have a strong chance of being crowned the Athlete of the Year, mainly because they are dearly beloved and have had exemplary seasons in their respective disciplines.
Kipyegon, for one, defended her World 1500m title and earned silver in the 5000m during the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. She also broke her own record in the 1500m.
Chebet also cemented her legacy as she claimed a rare double gold in the 5000m and 10,000m, and she set a world record in the 5000m.
Wanyonyi also established himself as the best athlete in the men's 800m, securing world-leading times this season and winning gold in Tokyo.
