Indefatigable Kipchoge shortlisted for Athlete of the Year Award

Marathon ‘King’ Eliud Kipchoge is among the five finalists for the World Male Athlete of the Year Award announced on Tuesday by the world’s athletics body IAAF.

Kipchoge had a stellar season  highlighted by breaking the long standing Berlin Marathon record in September which had been held by compatriot Dennis Kimetto since 2014.

On that particular drizzly afternoon on September 17  in the German capital, Kipchoge not only ran an astonishing race but also broke Kimetto’s record by 1 minute and 18 seconds to set a new World Record of two hours, one minute and 39 seconds and is seen as the front runner for the gong to be awarded out at the IAAF gala in Monaco in December 4.

Kipchoge is also the star -act of the London Marathon having won the race in three occasions — 2015, 2016 and 2018.

He will fight for the honours alongside Christina Coleman of the USA, Armand Duplantis(Sweden), Kevin Mayer(Germany), and Abderrahman Samba of Qatar.

Meanwhile, Diamond League champions Timothy Cheruiyot and Emmanuel Korir who dominated the 1,500m and 800m races respectively this season did not make the cut.

A three-way voting process determined the finalists.

The IAAF Council and the IAAF Family cast their votes by e-mail, while fans voted online via the IAAF’s social media platforms. The IAAF Council’s vote counted for 50 percent  of the result, while the IAAF Family’s votes and the public votes each counted for 25 percent of the final result. Voting closed on 13 November.

The finalists are (in alphabetical order):

Kipchoge had a stellar  season a highlight of wh

Christian Coleman (USA)
– World indoor record and world indoor champion at 60m
– World lead and IAAF Diamond League champion at 100m

Armand Duplantis (SWE)
– European champion at pole vault with a world-leading height
– World U20 champion
– Eight world U20 records or bests, indoors and out

Eliud Kipchoge (KEN)
– London Marathon champion
– Berlin Marathon champion with the biggest improvement on a men’s marathon world record since 1967

Kevin Mayer (FRA)
– World indoor champion at heptathlon
– World record at decathlon

Abderrahman Samba (QAT)
– World lead and unbeaten in nine finals at 400m hurdles, setting the world’s quickest time since 1992
– Asian Games champion at 400m hurdles and 4x400m
– IAAF Continental Cup winner
– Asian indoor 4x400m champion