Faith Kipyegon, the remarkable Kenyan athlete, renowned for her groundbreaking achievements in 2023, has received a nomination for the prestigious World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year Award. Kipyegon's extraordinary feats this year include breaking three world records and securing two world titles.
Kipyegon's nomination is a testament to her outstanding accomplishments, which encompass setting world records in the 1500m and 5000m races. In a historic feat, she became the first woman to triumph in both the 1500m and 5000m races during a single world championship competition.
Kipyegon faces tough competition from other outstanding athletes, including Tigst Assefa and Gudaf Tsegay from Ethiopia and the American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson. The list of nominees also features exceptional talents from around the globe, such as Femke Bol from the Netherlands, Shericka Jackson of Jamaica, Haruka Kitaguchi from Japan in the javelin, Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine in high jump, Maria Perez of Spain in race walk, Yulimar Rojas from Venezuela in triple jump, and Winfred Yavi representing Bahrain in the steeplechase.
To cast their votes for the World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year, the World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family will use email, while fans can vote online through World Athletics' social media platforms. Each 'like' on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, or a retweet on Twitter, counts as one vote.
The final result will be determined through a split vote, with the World Athletics Council's decision holding a 50% weight, and the remaining 50% divided equally between the votes from the World Athletics Family and the general public. Voting is currently underway and will continue until October 28, 2023.
The highly anticipated announcement of the award winner is scheduled for December 11, 2023. Faith Kipyegon seeks to become the first Kenyan woman to secure this prestigious honor since Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana achieved the feat in 2016.
Stay tuned for additional updates regarding the World Athletics Awards 2023, which will be provided by the organizing body in the coming weeks.
