Double Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon and world marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum were among the Kenyans honored at the revamped World Athletics awards gala on Monday evening in Monaco, France.
In a departure from previous editions, where one winner was crowned in the men’s and women’s categories, World Athletics adopted a new format, categorizing winners according to their disciplines – track, field events, and out-of-stadia events.
Kipyegon claimed the Female Athlete of the Year in track events, while Tigist Assefa of Ethiopia was crowned the best female athlete in out-of-stadia events, and Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela was named the best female athlete in field events.
Kipyegon emerged as the clear favorite to claim the women’s award after a scintillating season that saw her secure two gold medals at the World Championships while also breaking three world records over 1500m, 5000m, and the mile.
On the men’s side, Kiptum was crowned Male Athlete of the Year in out-of-stadia events, thanks to his record-breaking heroics at the Chicago Marathon, where he became the first man to run a marathon in under two hours and one minute.
He also claimed victory at the London Marathon, becoming the series winner at the 2023 World Marathon Majors.
Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Faith Cherotich were crowned the men’s and women’s Rising Stars. Wanyonyi took silver in the 800m at the World Championships before claiming the Diamond League trophy, while Cherotich won bronze in the 3000m steeplechase at the Worlds and settled for third in the Diamond League final.
