NAIROBI, Kenya, November 4, 2025 – World champions Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet have missed out of the final list of finalists for the World Athletics awards as fellow Kenyans Sabastian Sawe, Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Peres Jepchirchir earned the nod.
Double world record holder Kipyegon and her double world champion counterpart, Chebet, were up for the Female Track Athlete of the Year but are absent from the final list of nominees.
Instead, it will be the world 400m hurdles champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of the United States and world 400m champion Femke Bol of the Netherlands who will be going head-to-head for top honour.
Kipyegon and Chebet were widely tipped to make the final list following a record-laden year for both of them.
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Just before September’s World Championships in Tokyo, both of them broke the universe to a standstill at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, where both came away with world records.
Chebet clocked a world record of 13:58.06 in the women’s 5000m before Kipyegon timed 3:48.68 to smash her previous time of 3:49.04 – set a year earlier at the Paris Diamond League.
In Tokyo, the two were headline grabbers: Chebet won gold in the women’s 10,000m and 5000m – to become the first Kenyan to win the 25-lap race since Vivian Cheruiyot – whereas Kipyegon emphatically defended her 1500m crown – becoming the first to win four titles in her discipline.
Kipyegon also came away with silver in the women’s 5000m, after coming second to Chebet.
Crowning moment for Wanyonyi
For Wanyonyi, 2025 presents an opportunity to win his second World Athletics award since he was crowned the Male Rising Star in 2023.
He will be up against world 200m champion Noah Lyles of the United States for the Male Track Athlete of the Year award.
It will be a just reward for the 20-year-old who clinched his first ever world title in Tokyo, upgrading from the silver he won in the men’s 800m at the last edition of the competition in Budapest in 2023.
It also follows a scintillating run in this year’s Diamond League where he triumphed in Oslo, Stockholm, Monaco and Zurich to clinch the overall trophy.
Also hoping to be crowned for a productive year is Sawe who almost smashed the world record for the men’s marathon in Berlin after clocking 2:02:16.
Having crossed the 21km mark in 1:00:16 – much faster than world record holder Kelvin Kiptum when he clocked 2:00:35 in Chicago in 2023 – many were hoping that the world half marathon champion would go ahead to better his countryman’s record.
Sawe will have to contend with fellow East African, Alphonse Simbu of Tanzania, for the Male Athlete Out of Stadium award.
Simbu makes the cut by virtue of clinching gold in the men’s 42km in Tokyo.
The Female Out of Stadium Athlete award will be a battle between Jepchirchir and double racewalk champion Maria Perez of Spain.
Jepchirchir won the women’s marathon title in Tokyo, making up for the pain of missing out on the London Marathon through injury.
On the other hand, Perez won gold in the women’s 20km and 35km racewalk.
Voting closes on November 9 (Sunday), with the winners to be announced on November 30.