The 2024 World Athletics Awards are set to honour the world's top athletes, and Africa has strong contenders in both the track and field events.
The top two leading athletes in each category—track, field, and out of stadium—have been chosen from the first round of voting, which comprised votes from the World Athletics Council, the World Athletics Family, and a public vote on social media.
Africa has been nominated in the Men’s Track Athlete of the Year, Women’s Out of Stadium Athlete of the Year, and Men’s Out of Stadium Athlete of the Year categories.
Athlete profile
Letsile Tebogo (Botswana)
Tebogo is nominated for the Men’s Track Athlete of the Year Award.
The 21-year-old sensation burst onto the scene with a historic 2024 Paris Olympic 200m gold medal and an African record. His speed and talent immediately captivated the world.
In winning the 200m title at the Paris Olympics, Letsile Tebogo claimed the first ever Olympic gold medal in any sport for Botswana.
He ran an African record of 19.46—a time that moved him to fifth on the world all-time list—and that performance followed his sixth-place finish in the 100m final.
He went on to form part of Botswana’s silver medal-winning men’s 4x400m team.
Ruth Chepngetich (Kenya)
The 30-year-old Kenyan road runner is nominated for the Women’s Out of Stadium Athlete of the Year Award.
The marathon runner shattered world records and consistently delivered impressive performances, solidifying her position as one of the world's top distance runners.
Becoming the first woman to break 2:10 for 26.2 miles, she secured her third Chicago Marathon victory and a more than four-minute PB.
Tamirat Tola (Ethiopia)
The Ethiopian marathon runner claimed Olympic gold in a record-breaking time, showcasing his exceptional endurance and tactical prowess.
He might have been called into the Ethiopian team for Paris as a late replacement, but Tamirat Tola made the very most of the opportunity as he won the marathon in an Olympic record of 2:06:26.
Full list of nominees
Women’s track athlete of the year
Julien Alfred (Saint Lucia) – Olympic 100m champion
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) – Olympic 400m hurdles champion
Men’s track athlete of the year
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) – Olympic 5000m champion
Letsile Tebogo (Botwana) – Olympic 200m champion
Women’s field athlete of the year
Yaroslava Mahuchikh (Ukraine) – Olympic high jump champion
Nafissatou Thiam (Belgium) – Olympic heptathlon champion
Men’s field athlete of the year
Mondo Duplantis (Sweden) – Olympic pole vault champion
Miltiadis Tentoglou (Greece) – Olympic long jump champion
Women’s Out of Stadium Athlete of the Year
Ruth Chepngetich (Kenya) – world marathon record-holder
Sifan Hassan (Netherlands) - Olympic marathon champion
Men’s out of stadium athlete of the year
Brian Pintado (Ecuador) – Olympic 20km race walk champion
Tamirat Tola (Ethiopia) – Olympic marathon champion
The Athletes of the Year in each category, as well as the overall winner, will be revealed at a ceremony in Monaco on Sunday, 1 December, as part of the World Athletics Awards 2024.
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