Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

Kenya’s Faith Cherotich is among the finalists contending for the 2023 World Athletics Women’s Rising Star Award.

This accolade recognizes the best U20 athlete of the year, and Cherotich’s accomplishments have placed her among the leading candidates.

Faith Cherotich in 2023

Cherotich’s impressive achievements in 2023 include her bronze medal win in the highly competitive 3000m steeplechase event at the World Championships.

The youngster also made her mark on the world U20 all-time list, securing the second position with a remarkable time of 8:59.65. Cherotich’s versatility was also evident through her fourth-place finish at the World Cross Country Championships in the U20 category.

However, Cherotich’s competitors for the Rising Star Award are not to be underestimated. Medina Eisa from Ethiopia is a strong contender, having earned a silver medal at the World Cross Country Championships U20 and securing a sixth-place finish in the World Championships 5000m, where she clocked a personal best of 14:16.54.

Angelina Topic of Serbia is another finalist to watch out for. She impressed with a seventh-place finish in the World Championships high jump and set a national record of 1.97m. Additionally, she holds the title of European U20 champion.

Faith Cherotich’s display

Kenya’s Cherotich specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. At the age of 17, she won the bronze medal at the 2021 World Athletics Under-20 Championships held in Nairobi. Cherotich upgraded her bronze to gold a year later, winning the title at the World U20 Championships in Cali.

She joins Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi who has been nominated to vie for the 2023 Men’s Rising Star Award after an impressive 2023 season.

The 19-year-old is a World Championships 800m silver medallist a Diamond League champion and winner in Rabat, Paris, and Xiamen, and a World Cross Country mixed relay champion, and these achievements have helped him make the cut and contest for the global award.

Wanyonyi’s competitors will be Roshawn Clarke, an equally promising rising star who finished fourth in the World Championships 400m hurdles, equalled, and then broke the world U20 record with 47.85 in Kingston and 47.34 in Budapest.

The 19-year-old is also a Jamaican champion and a CARIFTA Games U20 champion.

Wanyonyi and Crawn will face strong competition from Erriyon Knighton from the United States. Knighton is a World Championships 200m silver medallist, the US champion, and the Diamond League race winner in Florence and Oslo.