NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 6 – Kenya’s long-distance runners Sabastian Sawe and Agnes Ngetich have been shortlisted for the 2026 men’s and women’s World Athlete of the Year, respectively.
World Athletics on Tuesday announced the 20 nominees ahead of the World Athletics Awards taking place in Monaco November 27.
Sawe, who wrote history as the first man to run a marathon under 2 hours in a competitive race, set a new World Record of 1:59:30 at the London Marathon.
Sawe will face stiff competition from among others Swedish star Mondo Duplantis, who improved his world pole vault record to 6.31m and won the Ultimate, world indoor and European titles.
In the corresponding women’s awards, Ngetich won the world half marathon title by 50 seconds in a women-only world record of 1:05:15 and won the world cross-country title by 42 seconds. She ran world leads of 8:08.95 for 3000m and 28:58 for 10km.
Ngetich is joined on the shortlist by, among others, Ethiopian Tigst Assefa, who won the Berlin Marathon in 2:11:04, the third-fastest time in history, and the London Marathon in a women-only world record of 2:15:41.
The six finalists – three for the women’s World Athlete of the Year award and three for the men’s – will be announced on November 10 and 11 and be invited to Monaco for the World Athletics Awards on November 29, when each winner will be announced live on stage.
Other awards presented on stage will include the men’s and women’s Rising Star honours, Coach of the Year, the President’s Award and, for the first time, the Moment of the Year award.
The nominees – selected by an international panel of athletics experts – include 10 for Women’s World Athlete of the Year and 10 for Men’s World Athlete of the Year.
In what has been another sensational year for the sport, the nominations reflect some of the standout performances achieved at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship and World Athletics Series events held throughout the year, as well as during various one-day meeting circuits, Label road races and other events around the world.
An eight-strong panel of statisticians – two members from World Athletics and one from each of the six area associations – selected the nominees.
A four-way vote, which closes on Saturday, October 17 at midnight CEST, will now determine their final ranking, from first to 10th.
Each of the four voting groups will contribute 25% of the final vote:
• World Athletics fans voting by survey available via the World Athletics app, website and social media channels
• Athletes who have competed at World Athletics Series events during 2026
• Members of the media including TV and radio commentators, written press journalists and content creators who have been accredited at World Athletics Series events in 2026
• World Athletics Family including Council members; commission members; athlete representatives; World Athletics Series event local organising committee chairs; Diamond League, World Indoor Tour Gold and Continental Tour Gold meeting directors; member federation presidents; official partners; and World Athletics staff.
Nominees for 2026 Women’s World Athlete of the Year (in alphabetical order):
Tigst Assefa, Ethiopia
• Won the Berlin Marathon in 2:11:04, the third-fastest time in history
• Won the London Marathon in a women-only world record of 2:15:41
Chase Jackson, USA
• Twice improved the North American shot put record, to 21.02m and 21.14m
• Won the world indoor title and set a Diamond League record to regain the Diamond Trophy
Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, USA
• Won a sprint double at the Ultimate Championship
• Set world leads of 10.62 in the 100m and 21.47 in the 200m, the latter putting her third on the world all-time list
Agnes Ngetich, Kenya
• Won the world half marathon title by 50 seconds in a women-only world record of 1:05:15 and won the world cross-country title by 42 seconds
• Ran world leads of 8:08.95 for 3000m and 28:58 for 10km
Marileidy Paulino, Dominican Republic
• Won the Ultimate 400m title and regained the Diamond League title
• Set a world lead and Diamond League record of 48.48 and remained unbeaten, running under 49 seconds in eight races
María Pérez, Spain
• Set an inaugural world half marathon race walk record of 1:30:06
• Won the European title by 58 seconds with that world record performance
Camryn Rogers, Canada
• Improved her own North American hammer record with 81.13m, strengthening her place at second on the world all-time list
• Achieved the five best performances in the world and retained the Commonwealth Games title
Masai Russell, USA
• Set a world 100m hurdles record of 12.09 and achieved nine of the 10 fastest times of the season
• Won Ultimate and Diamond League titles as part of an unbeaten season in the 100m hurdles
Audrey Werro, Switzerland
• Won Ultimate, Diamond League and European 800m titles
• Broke the Diamond League record three times, improving to a world lead of 1:53.70 – putting her third on the world all-time list
Yan Ziyi, China
• Threw 71.74m on her season opener, an Asian and world U20 record that puts her second on the world javelin all-time list
• Won Diamond League and Asian Games titles
Nominees for 2026 Men’s World Athlete of the Year (in alphabetical order):
Kenneth Bednarek, USA
• Achieved a sprint double at the Ultimate Championship, winning the 100m in 9.85 and 200m in a world-leading PB of 19.52
• Won the Diamond League 200m title in 19.62
Kristjan Čeh, Slovenia
• Won the Diamond League discus title with a Memorial van Damme meeting record of 71.29m
• Retained the European title with a championship record of 72.51m
Andy Díaz Hernández, Italy
• Won world indoor, Diamond League and European triple jump titles
• Jumped 18.15m to move to fourth on the world all-time list
Alison dos Santos, Brazil
• Set a world 400m hurdles record of 45.80 and won the Ultimate title in 45.98, the third-fastest time in history
• Went undefeated in 11 hurdles races, including the Diamond League Final
Mondo Duplantis, Sweden
• Improved his world pole vault record to 6.31m
• Won Ultimate, world indoor and European titles
Collen Kebinatshipi, Botswana
• Won the Ultimate 400m title in 43.39, putting him fifth on the world all-time list
• Won the Diamond League title and improved the Diamond League record three times, to a best of 43.40 – one of his six sub-44.00 races, a record for a single season
Josh Kerr, Great Britain & NI
• Set a world mile record of 3:42.66, achieving a world lead of 3:27.62 for his 1500m split
• Won Ultimate 1500m, world indoor 3000m, and Commonwealth Games mile titles
Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, Sri Lanka
• Won Ultimate, Diamond League, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games javelin titles
• Set a world-leading national record of 92.62m and won 13 of his 14 competitions
Sabastian Sawe, Kenya
• Won the London Marathon in a world record of 1:59:30
• Became the first man to break two hours in a record-eligible marathon
Ja’Kobe Tharp, USA
• Set a world 110m hurdles record of 12.75 at the NCAA Championships
• Won Ultimate and Diamond League titles and broke 13 seconds in six races
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