Eliud Kipchoge makes final shortlist for IAAF award
Kenya’s world marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge has made the final shortlist of five athletes for next weekend’s World Athletics Awards to be held in Monaco.
However, Kipchoge’s compatriot Timothy Cheruiyot, the world champion and Diamond League winner in the 1,500 metres, was eliminated in the vote that was announced by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) on Monday.
“The five athletes, who represent four countries from three area associations, have illustrated excellence across nearly all athletics disciplines in 2019,” IAAF said in statement.
Last month, Kipchoge became the first man to run the marathon in under two hours.
The other finalists are Ugandan world 10,000-metre champion Joshua Cheptegei, American pole vault world title holder Sam Kendricks, his 200m compatriot Noah Lyles and Norwegian hurdler Karsten Warholm.
A three-way voting process determined the finalists with the World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family casting their votes by email, while fans voted online via IAAF social media platforms, the statement said.
The winners will be announced at the 2019 World Athletics Awards in Monaco on November 23.
Kenya’s world champions Hellen Obiri (5,000m) and Beatrice Chepkoech (3,000m steeplechase) are in the women’s shortlist, which will also be reduced from the current 11 nominees.