Double feat: Kipchoge crowned World Athlete of the Year in France

World marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge has been crowned Male World Athlete of the Year for second year in a row at the annual World Athletics gala held Saturday in Monaco, France.

Kipchoge beat other four finalists to the award including World 10,000m champion Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda and world 400m hurdles champion Karsten Warholm of Norway.

Others were World 200m champion Noah Lyles and World Paul Vault champion Sam Kendricks both of USA.

The award comes on the back of another eventful year for Kipchoge who retained his London Marathon title as he bagged his fourth title at the English capital.

The Olympic champion also wrote history becoming the first man to cover a marathon race in less than two hours- a feat he achieved at the INEOS challenge held October in Vienna, Austria where he ran 1:59:40.

Meanwhile veteran trainer Brother Colm O’Connell of Ireland won the Coaching Achievement Award for his outstanding work in Kenya over the years.

The Female Athlete of the Year award went to Dalilah Muhammad of USA who set two world records in 2019 and also won the world 400m hurdles title.

Muhammad, 29, broke the world record in the 400m hurdles twice this year, first with a 52.20 performance at the US Championships in July to eclipse a mark which had stood since 2003.

She broke it again at the World Athletics Championships Doha 2019, clocking 52.16 in one of the championships’ most eagerly-awaited finals to claim the world title for the first time.

Furthermore, Muhammad also won world gold in the 4x400m relay and won five of her seven races.

Male Athlete of the Year

Eliud Kipchoge- Kenya

Female Athlete of the Year

Dalilah Muhammad- USA

Male Rising Star

Selemon Barega- Ethiopia

Female Rising Star

Yaroslava Mahuchikh- Ukraine

Coaching Achievement Award

Brother Colm O Connel