World Marathon record holder and two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge has made the final shortlist of five for the 2021 World Athletics Male Athlete of the Year award.
Kipchoge who successfully defended his Olympic title in Japan in August has made the final shortlist of five alongside Ugandan long distance athlete Joshua Cheptegei, Olympic shotput champion Ryan Courser, Pole Vault king Mondo Duplantis and Norwegian hurdler Karsten Warholm.
Kipchoge became only the third man in the history of the Olympic Games to win back to back titles in the Marathon when he clocked 2hrs, 8mins and 38secs to clinch the title in Tokyo.
Cheptegei completes the double for management Company Global Sports, the Ugandan having had a wonderful 2021 where he clinched two medals in Tokyo, winning gold in the 5,000m and silver in double the distance.
He also has a world-leading time of 8:09.55 for two miles.
Kipchoge won the award twice in succession in 2018 and 2019 and will look to become only the third man in history to win the award more than three times.
Moroccan 1500m legend Hicham El Guerrouj won it three times while Jamaican sprinting sensation Usain Bolt won it a record six times.
Duplantis who has been shortlisted also won the award last year.
The World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family cast their votes by email, while fans voted online via the World Athletics social media platforms.
The World Athletics Council’s vote counted for 50pc of the result, while the World Athletics Family’s votes and the public votes each counted for 25pc of the final result.
The Awards will be held virtually on December 1.