After breaking Eliud Kipchoge’s world marathon record in Chicago, Kelvin Kiptum was nominated for the World Athlete of the Year 2023 awards.

Kiptum has had a sensational season, even though at times he was ruled out of action because of an injury. He made his debut in the marathon in Valencia in December 2022, where he ran in 2:01:53.

He improved on the Valencia timing during the London Marathon in April this year when he clocked 2:01:25 and won the race, beating top athletes including Eliud Kipchoge.

At the Chicago course, Kiptum posted a history-breaking 2:00:35 and took 34 seconds off the world record that had been set by his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge in Berlin last year.

He also became the first athlete to break 2:01 in a record-eligible marathon. Kiptum now has three of the six fastest times in history to his name, as per World Athletics.

While he is set to battle for global recognition, Kiptum, 23, will have to beat a strong field of contestants. But who are his top rivals?

Noah Lyles (USA)

The American is a formidable challenger to Kiptum in the race for global recognition.

Lyles retained his world 200m title in Budapest in August during the World Championship and also added 100m and 4x100m gold to the mix.

He is unbeaten in his six 200m finals this year, during a competitive year that started with a 60m win and personal best in Boston and ended with a runner-up finish in the 100m at the Diamond League Final in Eugene.

The 100m personal best of 9.83 that he set to win the first of his three titles in Budapest made him the joint world leader in that discipline, while he led the 200m world top list with the 19.47 he clocked to win in London a month before claiming his third world 200m crown in 19.52.

Lyles also recorded three of the four fastest times of the year and added to his legend as one of the top sprinters of all time, according to World Athletics.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway)

The Norwegian has been a formidable opponent to Kenyan athletes, and he is set to challenge Kiptum for the world award.

For the second year running, Ingebrigtsen won world 5000m gold and 1500m silver, and he did so in a season that also featured a world record and a world best.

After an indoor campaign during which the 23-year-old achieved a European title double in the 1500m and 3000m in Istanbul, Ingebrigtsen achieved a world best in his second race of the outdoor season, clocking 7:54.10 for two miles at the Diamond League in Paris. He then won 1500m races in Oslo, Lausanne, and Silesia, running 3:27.14 for the latter – a European record and a time that moved him to fourth on the world all-time list.

Feeling under par, Ingebrigtsen settled for second in the world 1500m final but rebounded to retain his 5000m title. In his next race, the Norwegian set the first outdoor world record of his career, taking the world 2000m mark to 4:43.13 in Brussels.

Not willing to settle for just one Diamond Trophy at the series final in Eugene, he ran 3:43.73 to win the mile and then 7:23.63 to win the 3000m the following day – both European records that put him third on the world all-time lists for each discipline.