World Men’s Marathon record holder, 23-year-old Kelvin Kiptum has been nominated for the World Men’s Athlete of the Year, a prestigious award by the World Athletics.
Kiptum’s exceptional performance at the Chicago Marathon, where he shattered the Marathon record, earned him a well-deserved spot among the nominees.
He joined Faith Kipyegon, the world’s 1500m, mile and 5000m record holder, as one of the nominees for the World Athlete of the Year 2023 Award.
Kipyegon was selected alongside ten other outstanding female athletes on October 11, as confirmed by World Athletics.
Selection Process
“World Athletics is pleased to confirm a list of 11 nominees for Men’s World Athlete of the Year,” read part of the World Athletics’ official nominee statement.
The statement went on to add,” These athletes were selected by an international panel of athletics experts, comprising representatives from all six continental areas of World Athletics.
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Furthermore, World Athletics acknowledged that the nominations reflect the remarkable performances achieved in different events.
They include the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, one-day meeting circuits, Label Road races, and various global events.
Kiptum to Face Other Outstanding Athletes
Kiptum will battle out the 2023 Men’s World Athlete of the Year nominations with other stellar athletes selected by the body.
First on the list is Neeraj Chopra from India, a javelin specialist who is a World champion and the Asian Games champion.
World record holder Ryan Crouser is also in the race, due to his shot-put heroics that earned him a World champion status.
Also on the list is World pole vault champion, and Diamond League champion with a world record, Swedish Mondo Duplantis.
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African Nominees
Moreover, representing the 3000m steeplechase category is Soufiane El Bakkali from Morocco.
Bakkali is a World champion and has been undefeated in six finals.
Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen also made up the list with remarkable achievements of the 1500m, mile, and 5000m.
He is among the top favorites alongside Kiptum as he is the World 5000m champion and 1500m silver medalist, with European records.
In addition, North Americans Pierce LePage and speedster Noah Lyles are also part of the nominees.
LePage is a decathlon World champion and world leader.
Lyles on the other hand, is a World 100m and 200m champion, world leader, and has been undefeated in six 200m finals.
Other nominees selected include Spaniard Alvaro Martin- a World 20km and 35km race walk champion- Miltiadis Tentoglou and Karsten Warholm
How to Vote
Furthermore, World Athletics revealed that a three-way voting process shall be used to determine the finalists, for both the female and male categories.
“The World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family will cast their votes by email, while fans can vote online via the World Athletics social media platforms.
Individual graphics for each nominee will be posted on Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube this week; a ‘like’ on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube or a retweet on X will count as one vote,” read the statement.
The World Athletics Council’s vote will count for 50% of the result, while the World Athletics Family’s votes and the public votes will each count for 25% of the result.
Voting for the World Athletes of the Year will close at midnight on Saturday 28 October.
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The statement further read, “At the conclusion of the voting process, five women and five men finalists will be announced by World Athletics on 13-14 November.”
Kiptum and Kipyegon will be hoping to be announced as the winners on the World Athletics’ social media platforms on 11 December.
The story of these nominees and their extraordinary achievements paint a thrilling picture of the athleticism that has graced the world’s sporting stage in 2023.
