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The Nairobian

Meet Kenya's World Athlete of the year track nominees

Athletics

By Jonathan Komen | Oct 22, 2024

**Beatrice Chebet (right) with Faith Kipyegon.** [AFP]

Guys, here is a perfect opportunity for us to show the global scene our sporting signature –Kenya is the Mecca of world athletics.

Kenya’s three Olympic champions in Faith Kipyegon (1500m), Beatrice Chebet (5000m and 10,000m) and Emmanuel Wanyonyi (800m) have been nominated for the 2024 Track World Athlete of the Year awards.

These stars – who lit up stadiums across the globe in top-tier meets including the Olympic Games while even setting world records –have what it takes to claim the global honours.

Kipyegon, the Olympic gold (1500m) and silver (5000m) winner as well as Diamond League Trophy winner and a world record in 1500m as a bonus, sets to gun for a second bite at the cherry having won it last year.

In August, she broke her world record in women’s 1,500m at the Diamond League track and field meeting in Paris.

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Kipyegon finished in 3:49.04, surpassing her record of 3:49.11 set in Italy last year.

She pulled nine other runners in the race to achieve personal bests. Jessica Hull of Australia finished second in 3:50.83, smashing her own Oceania record by five seconds. Laura Muir was third in a British record of 3:53.79.

Last year, she also did it in a spectacular fashion. And once again, her athletics script appears to have come straight from heaven this season.

Kipyegon has been dropping one second every year since 2021. That’s 3:51 in 2021, 3:50 in 2022 and 3:49 this year.

On her part, Chebet set the world 10,000m record of 28:54.14 at the Prefontaine Classic meet in Eugene, USA, this season.

The 24-year-old Chebet became the first Kenyan woman to win Olympic 10,000m gold and wrapped it up with another gold in 5000m in Paris –no other Kenyan athlete has achieved at the Olympic Games.

Chebet and Kipyegon will battle for the final spot with Julien Alfred from Saint Lucia, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, USA, Marileidy Paulino, from the Dominican Republic and Gabby Thomas from the USA.

They will compete against four other nominees in the women's category while Wanyonyi will face five others in the men's race. Only two finalists will be selected in each group.

Wanyonyi, a fast-rising athlete who endured numerous challenges while heading cattle to ascend to the pinnace of 800m, won the two-lap race gold and crowned it with the World Athletics Diamond League Trophy.

The vote to determine the Track Athlete of the Year finalists is currently open on World Athletics social media platforms and will close on 27 October.