Eliud Kipchoge, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce headline finalists for World Athlete of the Year 2022
A record 1.3 million votes were registered on World Athletics' social media platforms to help determine finalists
Photo by: Kevin MorrisWorld Athletics (WA) announced 10 finalists (five men and five women) for the 2022 World Athlete of the Year award early this week, including world champion marathoner Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, and Jamaican world 100m sprint champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. Eight track and two field athletes made the final 10.
The 10 athletes represent nine different countries and have had sensational performances across a range of athletics disciplines throughout 2022. On the women’s side, world triple jump champion Yulimar Rojas won the award in 2021, and Fraser-Pryce won in 2013. Of the men, pole vault world champion Mondo Duplantis of Sweden won in 2020, with Kipchoge taking home the award twice, in 2018 and 2019.
Women’s World Athlete of the Year finalists
Tobi Amusan (NGR) World 100m hurdles champion, Diamond League, Commonwealth and African 100m hurdles champion. Set a world 100m hurdles record of 12.12.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM) World 100m champion, claiming a fifth gold medal in the event. Diamond League 100m champion. Fraser-Pryce ran a world-leading 10.62 among her record seven sub-10.70 100m races of the season.
Kimberly Garcia (PER) World 20K race walk champion, winning Peru’s first-ever WA championships medal. World 35K race walk champion in a South American record to complete a race walk double. WA race walking team championships 20 km bronze medallist.
Sydney McLaughlin (USA) World 400m hurdles and 4x400m champion. Broke the world 400m hurdles record with 51.41 at the US Championships. Further improved the world record to 50.68 to win the world title.
Yulimar Rojas (VEN) World indoor and outdoor triple jump champion. Diamond League triple jump champion. Improved her world record to 15.74m in Belgrade.
Men’s World Athlete of the Year finalists
Mondo Duplantis (SWE) World pole vault champion indoors and outdoors. Diamond League and European pole vault champion, improved his world record to 6.19m and 6.20m indoors, and 6.21m outdoors.
Soufiane El Bakkali (MAR) World 3,000m steeplechase champion. Diamond League 3,000m steeplechase champion. El Bakkali was unbeaten in 2022, running a world-leading 7:58.28 in Rabat.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) World 5,000m champion, world 1500m silver medallist indoors and outdoors. European 1,500m and 5,000m champion. Ingebrigtsen ran a world indoor 1,500m record of 3:30.60 and won the Diamond League title in a world-leading 3:29.02.
Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) Improved his world marathon record to 2:01:09, and was both the Berlin Marathon champion and the Tokyo Marathon champion.
Noah Lyles (USA) World 200m champion, Diamond League 200m champion. Lyles ran a world-leading national record of 19.31 to move to third on the world all-time list.
Voting procedure for 2022 World Athletes of the Year
A three-way voting process determined the finalists, with the WA council and the WA family casting their votes by email, while fans logged their decisions online via the WA social media platforms where a record 1.3 million votes were registered.
The WA council’s vote makes up 50 per cent of the result, while the WA family’s votes and the public votes each counted for 25 per cent of the final result. Voting was closed on Oct. 31.
A men’s and women’s World Athlete of the Year will be announced on WA’s social media platforms in early December.