World Athletics Council criticised after Chebet, Kipyegon miss out on global awards final list

They are popular among fans but are undeserving of World Athlete of Year Awards

Those are words of Kenya’s athletics enthusiasts who have expressed displeasure and raised questions over why either double world champion Beatrice Chebet or Faith Kipyegon was named as finalist in the year’s global awards.

Since the confirmation of the Athlete of the Year Awards 2025 on Tuesday, Kenyan fans and others across the world who felt that more deserving athletes were snubbed have cast doubts on the selection processes.

After their nomination in October, Chebet and Kipyegon were touted for the finals slated for November 30 in Monaco.

Aside from bagging gold medals at the Tokyo World Championships, the duo smashed records in spectacular fashions. Chebet shattered the 5000m record while Kipyegon lowered her own 1500m fastest mark.

Chebet’s absence in the final list particularly raised eyebrows.

However, in a surprise turn of events, neither of them was named as a final contender, sparking fury.

The decision by the World Athletics Council, whose vote is crucial in determining athletes of the year, not to consider either of the duo, triggered a storm.

According to athletics fans who took to World Athletics social pages to cast their vote, the Kenyan duo of decorated stars were popular in the athletics family spaces, and were expected to be on the final list of two athletes per category.

The World Athletics Council’s vote counted for 50 percent of the result, while the global family’s votes and social media voting accounted for 25 percent of the cumulative points each nominee got.

“The World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family will cast their votes by email, while the social vote will be open on Facebook, Instagram and X. Individual graphics for each nominee will be posted; a 'like' on Facebook and Instagram or a repost on X will count as one vote,” the global governing body said last month.

But fans demanded answers as they criticised the criteria used to determine the finalists.

The conspicuous absence of USA’s Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, the World 100m, 200m and 4x100m champion also raised eyebrows.

Jefferson-Wooden was undefeated in the 100m in the season, with the top five performances of the year.

World 400m hurdles champion Femke Bol of the Netherlands and world 400m champion Sydney Mclaughlin of the USA made the final cut and will be subjected to another round of votes by global fans.

Athletics enthusiasts took to World Athletics social media pages to express their disappointment with what they termed as a questionable listing of finalists.

“You own the awards, but Kenya won the races,” Sandra Lee Omukalo commented on World Athletics Facebook page.

Mccgregor Good wrote: “Keep your award. The world witnessed Kenyan athletes win fairly and squarely and will continue to do the same.”

“World Athletics, what were the qualifications? I hoped Chebet, Melissa or Kipyegon would appear in the final list,” said Sila Song.

Chebet and Kipyegon had also missed out on the final of the annual awards last year, triggering criticism.

Despite the Chebet and Kipyegon heartbreak, world 800m Emmanuel Wanyonyi made it to the final of the final of men’s track athlete of the year alongside world 200m champion Noah Lyles of USA.

Kenyan marathoners, world champion Peres Jepchirchir and the winner of London and Berlin Marathons Sabastian Sawe are in the final round.

“The top two athletes in each category – track, field and out of stadium – have been chosen from the first round of voting, which comprised votes from the World Athletics Council, World Athletics Family and a public vote on social media. One of the two athletes will take the crown in their category,” World Athletics said on Tuesday.

Like in the last two years, there will be three separate awards for women and a similar one for men, recognizing the athletes of the year for track, field and out-of-stadium events. There will also be men’s and women’s awards for the overall World Athlete of the Year.

Once the finalists have been established, a fan vote will open – for all registered users of World Athletics+ – to help determine the overall World Athletes of the Year.

The 2025 World Athletics Awards also include the Rising Star awards, Coaching Achievement Award, Woman of the Year, Photograph of the Year, Member Federation Award and President’s Award.

It started with a panel of international experts compiling a long list of nominees for each of the three main award categories.

“Voting will take place to determine the two finalists in each category,” the global athletics body announced.