Kenyan and American named athletes of the year

The much-anticipated World Athletics Awards came and went in Monaco with Kenyan record-breaking marathon runner, Eliud Kipchoge and United States’ 400m hurdler Dalilah Muhammad, named Male and Female World Athletes of the Year, respectively on November 23.

Read: British star named Sportswoman of the Year

Sensational performances throughout the year got them across the line for the International Association for Athletics Federations’ (IAAF) top awards. Kipchoge won the award for a second year running following his historic sub-two-hour marathon feat set at the Ineos 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, Austria in October.

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The athletics duo saw Kipchoge defend the world prize won last year while Muhammed won the female accolade for the first time (Image: Sourced).

With the same passion and voice which followed his 1:59:40 run on October 12, the Olympic marathon champion told the awards ceremony he hopes he has inspired a generation. “I hope I inspired the human race,” he simply stated, beating out competition from Joshua Cheptegei, Sam Kendricks, Noah Lyles, and Karsten Warholm, to defend his title.

‘A tough year for which I’m thankful’

Muhammad was the name called out for the women’s prize after she saw out the athletics season by breaking the world record in her event twice this year, in addition to winning the world title in Doha, lowering the mark to 52.16 seconds. She was also part of the United States’ winning women’s 4×400m relay team.

“It’s been an amazing year,” she said. “It’s been tough but I’m so thankful. I never imagined that I would end the year like this.” The American upstaged Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sifan Hassan, Brigid Kosgei, and Yulimar Rojas en route to capturing the crown.