World Athlete of the Year: Four Africans Nominated, Including Sabastian Sawe and His 1:59:30 Marathon

On October 6, 2026, World Athletics published the list of twenty athletes nominated for the 2026 World Athlete of the Year title, featuring ten women and ten men. Four are African: Kenyans Sabastian Sawe and Agnes Ngetich, Ethiopian Tigst Assefa, and Botswanan Collen Kebinatshipi. They were selected by a panel of eight statisticians, including one representative from each of the six continental associations.

Sawe, the first man under two hours

The most spectacular entry is that of Sabastian Sawe. On April 26, 2026, at the London Marathon, the Kenyan ran a 1:59:30, becoming the first man to break the two-hour barrier in a record-eligible marathon, shattering the 2:00:35 world record set by Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023, reports The Star. Behind him, Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha finished in 1:59:41 and Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo in 2:00:28, according to RunMotion. Sawe had previously been named the 2025 Out-of-Stadium Athlete of the Year.

Ngetich and Assefa, the long-distance season

Agnes Ngetich has enjoyed a string of successes: the world cross-country title in Tallahassee on January 10 (10 km in 31:28), a 28:58 10 km in Lille, 8:08.95 in the 3,000m in Monaco on July 10, and then the world half-marathon title in 1:05:15, a world record in a women-only race that improves upon Peres Jepchirchir's mark by 61 seconds, according to The Star.

Tigst Assefa is nominated for her 2:11:04 in Berlin, the third-best performance in marathon history, and for her 2:15:41 in London, a world record in a women-only race, World Athletics indicates.

Kebinatshipi, Botswana's 400m star

The fourth African is Collen Kebinatshipi. The Botswanan won the 400m Ultimate Championship in 43.39, the fifth-fastest time in history, claimed the Diamond League trophy, and broke the competition record three times, down to 43.40. He ran under 44 seconds six times in a single season, an unprecedented total according to World Athletics.

Voting is open until midnight Monaco time on Saturday, October 17, 2026, and is divided into four groups, each accounting for 25% of the vote: World Athletics fans, athletes competing in the 2026 Series, accredited media, and the federation's "family." The three finalists in each category will be announced on November 10 and 11, with the winners revealed on November 29, 2026, in Monaco.

The four African nominees compete in different disciplines: long-distance and marathon for the first three, and the one-lap sprint for the latter. Their collective presence speaks to the depth of the continental talent pool, from the Kenyan Rift to the tracks of Botswana.