Kenya will be represented in the 2022 World Athletics Awards by two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge who is set to battle it out with top-tier international athletes drawn from various categories.
According to the final list of the 2022 World Athletics Awards released on Tuesday, November 15, Kipchoge was selected in the men's category.
His compatriot, Faith Kipyegon, who is also a two-time Olympics champion, however missed out in the women’s category.
Kipchoge is in contention for the prestigious award alongside the likes of United States sprinter Noah Lyles and Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali.
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World vault champion Mondo Duplantis of Sweden and Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen have also progressed to the next phase.
According to the organizers, more than one million votes were cast by the end of the voting period.
“The World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family cast their votes by email, while fans logged their decisions online via the World Athletics social media platforms where a record 1.3 million votes were registered.
“The World Athletics Council’s vote counted for 50 percent of the result, while the World Athletics Family’s votes and the public votes each counted for 25 percent of the final result,” read a statement from World Athletics.
In the women’s category, 1,500m world champion Faith Kipyegon failed to make it to the next round according to the list which was released on Monday.
Despite registering superb performances in the just concluded season, Kipyegon was not among the five female athletes named in the final list.
The five athletes who will fight for the award include Nigeria’s 100m hurdles sensation Tobi Amusan, Peru’s Kimberly Garcia and Jamaica’s 100m world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser.
400m hurdles world record holder Sydney McLaughlin and Venezuela's triple jumper Yulimar Rojas are also in contention.
The winners of the award will be announced in December on the organizer’s social media platforms.
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