Rumesh Tharanga among nominees announced for World Athlete of the Year 2026

The World Athletics Awards are set to take place in Monaco on November 29, with 20 nominees announced for the World Athlete of the Year honors. These nominees, selected by an international panel of athletics experts, include 10 women and 10 men. The list of nominees showcases some of the standout performances achieved throughout the year, including races and events held at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship, World Athletics Series events, one-day meeting circuits, road races, and other competitions around the globe.

For the Women’s World Athlete of the Year category, nominees include Tigest Assefa from Ethiopia, who won the Berlin Marathon in 2:11:04; Chase Jackson from the USA, who improved the North American shot put record twice; Melissa Jefferson-Wooden from the USA, who won a sprint double at the Ultimate Championship and set world leads in the 100m and 200m; Agnes Ngetich from Kenya, who won the world half marathon and cross-country titles; and Camryn Rogers from Canada, who improved her North American hammer record to 81.13m.

The Men’s World Athlete of the Year nominees consist of Kenneth Bednarek from the USA, who won a sprint double at the Ultimate Championship; Kristian Ceh from Slovenia, who won the Diamond League discus title; Andy Diaz Hernandez from Italy, who won triple jump titles across various events; Allison dos Santos from Brazil, who set a world 400m hurdles record and won the Ultimate title; Mondo Duplantis from Sweden, who improved his world pole vault record; Collen Kebinatshipi from Botswana, who won the Ultimate 400m title and set a Diamond League record; and Sabastian Sawe from Kenya, who won the London Marathon in a world record time.