Marathon in 1:59:30: Sabastian Sawe and three other Africans nominated for Athlete of the Year

Four African athletes are among the twenty nominees for the 2026 World Athlete of the Year title, with finalists to be announced on November 10 and 11, 2026, before the winners are unveiled on November 29 in Monaco, according to World Athletics. The most spectacular entry is that of Kenya's Sabastian Sawe.

According to the international federation, Sawe won the London Marathon in 1:59:30, a world record, becoming the first man to break the two-hour barrier in a marathon eligible for a record. The milestone that athletics had been watching for years has fallen on an official course, and it was achieved by a runner from the Rift Valley.

Three other African entries

Among the women, Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa is nominated after winning the Berlin Marathon in 2:11:04, the third-best performance in history according to World Athletics, followed by the London Marathon in 2:15:41, a world record for a women-only race.

Kenya's Agnes Ngetich won the world half-marathon title with a 50-second lead in 1:05:15, a world record for a women-only event, and the world cross-country title with a 42-second lead. She also recorded the world's best performances of the year in the 3,000m (8:08.95) and the 10km (28:58).

The fourth nominee is Botswana's Collen Kebinatshipi in the 400m: he won the Ultimate Championship title in 43.39, the fifth-fastest time in history, secured the Diamond League title, and ran six races under 44 seconds in a single season, a total that World Athletics presents as a record for one year.

How the title is decided

The twenty nominees, ten women and ten men, were selected by a panel of eight statisticians: two from World Athletics and one for each of the six continental associations, including Africa. The vote is then divided into four groups, each accounting for one-quarter of the result: fans, athletes competing in the 2026 World Athletics Series, accredited media, and the governing body's "family," which includes the presidents of member federations.

The public vote, which was open online, closed on October 17, 2026, at midnight Central European Time. The structure of the ballot therefore places African federations in three of the four voting groups, a weight that matters when four of the twenty candidates come from the continent.

World Athletics has also introduced a new category this year, the Moment of the Year, and is also awarding Rising Star and Coach of the Year prizes. The nominees for these categories were not detailed in the nomination announcement.