Faith Cherotich has been finally shortlisted to vie for the World Athletics Rising Star Award and will face stiff competition from a field of strong candidates.

After an inspiring and impressive season, the youngster is set for global recognition, but how exactly did the 19-year-old perform in the year and even before?

Cherotich’s career highlights

Cherotich won two world medals in the U20 category in 2021, where she lifted a bronze, and a gold in 2022, before making it onto the senior global podium in 2023.

Her season started at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia, and she managed to finish fourth in the U20 race, which was her lowest-place finish of the whole year.

At the Diamond League series in Doha, Cherotich started her track season and finished third in the 3000m steeplechase in 9:06.43, just 0.29 off the personal best she set in Zurich eight months before, according to World Athletics.

She was second at the Kip Keino World Athletics Continental Tour Gold Classic meeting before she booked a ticket to the World Championship in Budapest, Austria, by finishing third at the Kenyan trials.

She made her senior debut in the Austrian capital, where she won her heat before placing third in the 3000m steeplechase. Then she improved her personal best to 9:00.69 when she also won bronze behind Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi in a race that was won by her Kenyan compatriot, Beatrice Chepkoech.

At the Weltklasse meeting in Zurich, Cherotich finished third by running in 9:07.59, which was the fourth-fastest time of her career.

Sub-nine performance

Finally, Cherotich participated in the Diamond League final that was held in Eugene, US, where she finished third in what was a repeat of the World Championships podium. However, this time with her first-ever sub-nine-minute performance.

Yavi and Chepkoech recorded the second and third fastest times in history, while Cherotich clocked 8:59.65, which is the number two performance on the world U20 all-time list.