Ahead of next month’s World Athletics Awards 2021, World Athletics on November 9, announced five nominees for the 2021 Male Rising Star Award to recognize this year's best U20 athlete.
World U20 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi has been nominated for the 2021 Male Rising Star Award ahead of next month’s World Athletics Awards 2021.
Wanyonyi is among four other athletes nominated for the same award across the globe including American duo of World U20 400m hurdles record-holder Sean Burrel and World U20 200m record holder Erriyon Knighton, World U20 3000m champion and 5000m silver medallist Tadese Worku, and World U20 110m hurdles champion Sasha Zhoya.
Wanyonyi won the World Athletics Championships U20 800m gold medal after cruising to victory at Kasarani Stadium in the World Athletics U20 Championship in Nairobi in August.
He managed to clock a time of 1:43.76 setting the championship record.
The World U20 800m champion, has the current World U20 leading time and holds the National U18 800m record.
Wanyonyi, who is a former herdsman, had dropped out of school in class three but resumed his studies seven years later. Currently he is in Form One.
Wanyonyi was spotted by a Good Samaritan, who offered to pay for his education only to be enrolled in an athletics programme by his teachers.
Four years later, Wanyonyi is a gold medal medal holder and a nominee for the Male Rising Star of the Year, in his first appearance on the global stage.
World Athletics noted that the nomination of the five was a perfect representation of the kind of performance that the athletics world witnessed all year.
“The nominations reflect the many incredible performances that the sport has witnessed this year, at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and other events around the world.”
"The nominations reflect the many incredible performances that the sport has witnessed this year, at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and other events around the world," part of the release read.
The winner of the 2021 Male Rising Star Award will be selected by an international panel of experts and be announced live at the World Athletics Awards 2021 on December 1.