Eyebrows have been raised as the finalist list for the 2025 World Athletics Athletes of the Year contained only three Kenyans in the three distinct categories unveiled by the global competition organisers on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

This is despite the nation making a rare historical feat by becoming the first country in the world to win all distance events with a clean sweep of gold medals at the 2025 World Athletics Championships.

Clean sweep

The golds came from Faith Kipyegon, Faith Cherotich, Lilian Odira, Beatrice Chebet, Peres Jepchirchir, and the 800 m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi.

In the revealed finalists’ shortlist, Wanyonyi, the reigning Olympic 800m and World Athletics champion, will battle Noah Nyles of the United States of America for the prestigious Male Track of the Year Award.

Sebastien Sawe, a two-time marathon winner, was also nominated for the out-of-stadium category finalist against Tanzania’s Alfred Simbu, who stunned a star-studded list to win the Tokyo Athletics Marathon.

In the female category, the United States of America (USA) 400 m champion, Sydney McLaughlin, made the list for a second year running.

World marathon champion Jepchirchir also earned a slot in the women’s out-of-the-stadium category, where she will battle it out against Maria Perez, the race walk champion. 

At the top of those snubbed on the finalist list is Beatrice Chebet, who broke the 5000 m world record at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene and later pulled off a historic 5,000m and 10,000m double at the World Championships in Tokyo.

Chebet had also achieved the same feat in the 2024 Olympics.

Record-breaking feats

The evergreen Faith Kipyegon was arguably among those expected to make the shortlist after her multiple record-breaking feats on the track.

On July 5 at the Prefontaine Classic, the Kenyan middle-distance queen shattered her own 1,500m world record, clocking 3:48.68 to become the first woman in history to dip under 3:49. 

At the Tokyo World Championships, she etched her name deeper into athletics folklore by clinching her fourth world title over the metric mile, adding to her previous triumphs in Budapest 2023, Eugene 2022, and London 2017.

3000m steeplechase queen, Faith Cherotich, was also among the year’s best performers who missed the finalist slot.

Cherotich stormed to victory in the women’s 3000m steeplechase, setting a new championship record of 8:51.59 and outpacing Olympic champion Winfred Yavi, who came second.

The feat earned Kenya its fourth gold medal in the global event.