Kelvin Kiptum, who recently set a new world record in the marathon, has been nominated as one of the candidates for the Male Athlete of the Year Award. Kiptum achieved this remarkable feat by breaking the previous men’s marathon world record during the Chicago Marathon, completing the race in 2 hours, 35 seconds, surpassing Eliud Kipchoge’s previous record by 34 seconds. In addition to this, the 23-year-old secured victory in the London Marathon in April, setting a new course record of 2 hours, 25 seconds.
Kiptum, the sole Kenyan nominee on the list, faces formidable competition from other exceptional track and field athletes who had outstanding performances in 2023, including Sweden’s pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis and USA’s Noah Lyles, among others.
The finalists will be determined through a three-way voting process. The World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family will cast their votes via email, while fans can participate in the voting process by going online to the World Athletics social media platforms.
Each nominee will have individual graphics posted on various social media platforms, where a ‘like’ on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube or a retweet on another platform will be counted as one vote.
The final result will be determined as follows: The World Athletics Council’s vote will carry a 50% weight, while the votes from the World Athletics Family and the public will each count for 25% of the total result.
Voting for the World Athletes of the Year will conclude at midnight on Saturday, October 28. The announcement of the five women and five men finalists will be made by World Athletics on November 13-14. The winners will be unveiled on World Athletics’ social media platforms on December 11.