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Kipchoge voted 2018 IAAF Male Athlete of the Year

Unaccustomed as we are to seeing the world's fastest marathoner dressed in black tie, it looked great on him in Monaco today

No one was surprised when Eliud Kipchoge was pronounced the 2018 IAAF Athlete of the Year in Monaco this afternoon.

RELATED: IAAF Male Athlete of the Year finalists announced

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Kipchoge set a new marathon world record at the Berlin Marathon in September, running 2:01:39, more than a minute faster than Dennis Kimetto’s previous record of 2:02:57. Kipchoge’s fellow finalists included sprinter Christian Coleman, hurdler Abderrahman Samba, and decathlete Kevin Mayer, and though Mayer also set a world record (and on the same day as Kipchoge’s) few doubted the Kenyan would win.

The female athlete of the year is Olympic and world champion in the triple jump Caterine Ibarguen of Colombia. Ibarguen finished the 2018 season undefeated, with a world-leading 14.96m in the triple jump and a national record of 6.93 in the long jump.

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The female category was controversial this year, on account of runner Caster Semenya of South Africa not being named to the list of finalists, alongside names like Dina Asher-Smith and Shaunae Miller-Uibo. Pundits speculated it was because of the ongoing controversy over her testosterone levels

RELATED: Caster Semenya conspicuously absent from IAAF Athlete of the Year finalist list

 

 

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