Cheptegei, Kiplimo nominated for Male World Athlete of the Year

World Athletics Awards

December 5

Joshua Cheptegei, Uganda
- Broke world records at 5000m (12:35.36), 10,000m (26:11.00) and 5km on the roads (12:51)
- Fourth at the World Athletics Half Marathon

Jacob Kiplimo, Uganda
- Won world half marathon title
- Won the 3000m in Rome

Joshua Cheptegei has the world at his feet.

With three world records to his name this season, there is surely enough to suggest that the Ugandan star athlete will be crowned the Male World Athlete of the Year during the World Athletics Awards on December 5.

Another Ugandan, Jacob Kiplimo, who recorded a world half marathon win in a record time of 58 min 49 sec, is also among the male contenders.

But while Kiplimo had every right to be shortlisted for the men's award if you consider his impressive exploits in Rome where he won the Diamond League 3000m race in a time of 7:26.64, it's his Ugandan counterpart Cheptegei that will have a stronger claim to athletics' biggest prize.

And this will purely come down to his three world records -the men's 10,000m world record he broke with a time of 26:11.00  in the Spanish city of Valencia in October, the 5000m world record that he registered in Monaco and the 5km road world record he set in Monaco in February.

Cheptegei, 23, came into the track events as the 73rd-fastest man in history with a personal best of 12:57.41. But he declared before the 5000m meet in Monaco (August) that the world record was his goal, considering that the Olympics had been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Uganda's most decorated athlete took 1.99 seconds off Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele's world record set in 2004.

To prove that his achievement in Monaco was no fluke, he bounced back in devastating fashion, breaking the 10,000m in Valencia, to earn his place among athletics' greatest athletes of all time.

"It means something great to me. You are trying to write history and let the people know that track is still exciting," he said.

Female nominees for World Athlete of the Year

Femke Bol (Netherlands), Letesenbet Gidey (Ethiopia), Sifan Hassan (Netherlands), Peres Jepchirchir (Kenya), Faith Kipyegon (Kenya), Laura Muir (Great Britain), Hellen Obiri (Kenya), Yulimar Rojas (Venezuela), Elaine Thompson-Herah (Jamaica), Ababel Yeshaneh (Ethiopia)

Male nominees for World Athlete of the Year

Donavan Brazier (USA), Joshua Cheptegei (Uganda), Timothy Cheruiyot (Kenya), Ryan Crouser (USA), Armand Duplantis (Sweden), Jacob Kiplimo (Uganda), Noah Lyles (USA), Daniel Stahl (Sweden), Johannes Vetter (Germany), Karsten Warholm (Norway)