World Athletics has announced the nominees for the Women’s World Athlete of the Year and Men’s World Athlete of the Year titles. For each award, ten athletes were selected, in a distinct format for the women’s and men’s categories.
The selection of the nominees was made by a panel of eight statisticians. The process therefore involves a small group of data experts, with ten names per prize.
The voting phase to identify three finalists is now open. It must end at midnight CEST on Saturday 17 October, giving voters a clear deadline.
On the women’s side, the nominees for Athlete of the Year 2026 are Tigst Assefa, Chase Jackson, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Agnes Ngetich, Marileidy Paulino, María Pérez, Camryn Rogers, Masai Russell, Audrey Werro and Yan Ziyi.
For the men, the nominees for Athlete of the Year 2026 are Kenneth Bednarek, Kristjan Čeh, Andy Díaz Hernández, Alison dos Santos, Mondo Duplantis, Collen Kebinatshipi, Josh Kerr, Rumesh Pathirage, Sabastian Sawe and Ja’Kobe Tharp.
