Kipchoge among five finalists for Male World Athlete of the Year Award

2020 Tokyo Olympics marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge has made it to the list of the five finalists for Male World Athlete of the Year for the World Athletics Awards 2021 set to be held virtually on 1 December

Initially, 10 athletes were selected by an international panel of athletics experts, comprising representatives from all six continental areas of World Athletics.

Kipchoge will battle it out for the award with Olympic 5000m champion Joshua Cheptegei, Olympic and Diamond League shot put champion Ryan Crouser, Olympic pole vault champion Mondo Duplantis, and Olympic 400m hurdles champion Karsten Warholm.

Kipchoge defended his Olympic marathon gold won in Brazil in 2016 in the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics staged in August this year, clocking 2:08:38, to become only the third person to successfully do so in the men's marathon after Abebe Bikila in 1960 and 1964, and Waldemar Cierpinski in 1976 and 1980.

The marathoner will be hoping to have his name in the history books as one of the only three male athletes to have won the award more than twice, with Usain Bolt and Hicham El Guerrouj having won it six and three times respectively.

Kipchoge won the award back to back in 2018 and 2019 to become the second Kenyan to do so after David Rudisha in 2010.

The five athletes, who represent five countries from three area associations, have produced some exceptional performances across a range of athletics disciplines in 2021, at the Tokyo Olympic Games, one-day meeting circuits, and other events around the world.

The finalists and their achievements;

Eliud Kipchoge, KENYA

Olympic marathon champion

Largest winning margin in men’s Olympic marathon since 1972

Winner of Enschede Marathon

Joshua Cheptegei, UGANDA

Olympic 5000m champion

Olympic 10,000m silver medallist

World-leading 8:09.55 for two miles

Ryan Crouser, USA

Olympic and Diamond League shot put champion

Undefeated all year

World shot put records indoors and outdoors

Mondo Duplantis, SWEDEN

Olympic pole vault champion

Diamond League pole vault champion

European indoor pole vault champion

Karsten Warholm, NORWAY

Olympic 400m hurdles champion

Diamond League 400m hurdles champion

World 400m hurdles record and world 300m hurdles best