Kenya's Faith Kipyegon and the USA's Noah Lyles
World Athletics
Six athletes – Tigist Assefa, Mondo Duplantis, Kelvin Kiptum, Faith Kipyegon, Noah Lyles and Yulimar Rojas – have been announced as World Athletes of the Year for 2023.
The world champions and world record-breakers were the final winners to be revealed as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023 on Monday (11), following confirmation of this year’s Rising Stars: world 3000m steeplechase bronze medallist Faith Cherotich and world 800m silver medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi.
The adaptation of the World Athlete of the Year honours awarded this year follows feedback received during the voting process. Many sensational performances – including an extraordinary 23 world records* – were achieved in 2023. When it came to compiling the votes, athletes, fans and World Athletics Family members commented that it was incredibly hard to limit the vote to just one athlete, because of the various disciplines and the vast differences in skill sets required. As a result, for 2023 the World Athlete of the Year awards have been divided into three event categories: track, field and out of stadia.
“The depth of talent and the outstanding performances in our sport this year more than justify the expansion of the World Athletics Awards to recognise the accomplishments by these six athletes across a range of disciplines,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. “Our World Athletes of the Year alone have achieved seven world records between them in 2023, as well as a host of world titles and major wins, so it is only fitting that they be recognised as the athletes of the year in their respective fields.
“I congratulate our award winners and all of the athletes nominated for these honours.”
World Athletes of the Year for 2023
Women’s track: Faith Kipyegon, KEN, 1500m/mile/5000m
Women’s field: Yulimar Rojas, VEN, triple jump
Women’s out of stadia: Tigist Assefa, ETH, marathon
Men’s track: Noah Lyles, USA, 100m/200m
Men’s field: Mondo Duplantis, SWE, pole vault
Men’s out of stadia: Kelvin Kiptum, KEN, marathon
Assefa, Duplantis, Kiptum and Kipyegon set world records in their respective events in 2023, while all six World Athletes of the Year secured world titles or major marathon wins.
The moment of the year for Assefa came at the BMW Berlin Marathon in September, when the Ethiopian 27-year-old ran 2:11:53, smashing the world record by two minutes and 14 seconds and achieving the biggest single improvement on the mark for 40 years.
She finished almost six minutes ahead of her nearest rival after clocking 1:06:20 for the first half and an even faster 1:05:33 for the second half – a time that just seven women have beaten this year in a standalone half marathon.
Kiptum also achieved his world record in a World Athletics Platinum Label road race, running 2:00:35 at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in October. Becoming the first athlete to break 2:01 in a record-eligible marathon, the 24-year-old Kenyan won the race by almost three and a half minutes and took 34 seconds off Eliud Kipchoge’s previous world record.
Just one year on from his marathon debut, Kiptum now has three of the seven fastest times in history to his name having also won the TCS London Marathon in April in 2:01:25.
Duplantis improved his world pole vault record both indoors and outdoors in 2023, while he also retained the world title and achieved 20 clearances of 6.00m or higher.
Indoors, the Swedish 24-year-old added a centimetre to his previous outright best, clearing 6.22m in Clermont-Ferrand. During the outdoor season, he secured his second consecutive world title in Budapest and then won his third Wanda Diamond League trophy with a clearance of 6.23m on his first attempt to better his world record by another centimetre.
Kipyegon set world records at an incredible three distances during a season in which she also achieved a golden double at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23.
First, the 29-year-old Kenyan improved the world 1500m record to 3:49.11 in Florence, taking almost a full second off the previous mark. Just one week later, and despite having raced the 5000m just twice before, she improved the world record for that event, too, clocking 14:05.20 in Paris to shave 1.42 seconds from the old record. Her third world record came in Monaco, where she smashed the previous mile mark by five seconds, clocking 4:07.64. Then, in Budapest, she won her third senior world 1500m title and her first world 5000m crown.
Lyles also achieved an individual title double at the World Championships in Budapest, winning 100m gold and retaining his 200m title before forming part of USA’s victorious 4x100m team.
The 26-year-old won the 100m in 9.83 – which saw him end the season as joint world leader – and the 200m in 19.52. He went even faster at the Diamond League meeting in London, clocking 19.47 to maintain his position as world 200m leader for the sixth consecutive year, during a season in which he was undefeated in six 200m finals.
Rojas won her fourth world outdoor title in Budapest and the Venezuelan 28-year-old also claimed her third consecutive Diamond League trophy.
Despite being in eighth place going into the final round at the World Championships, the world record-holder kept her cool and managed to soar 15.08m with her final attempt, moving her into the lead by eight centimetres. That secured her an eighth global gold medal. Then, at the Diamond League Final in Eugene, she improved her world lead to 15.35m for a mark just 39cm off her own world record.
Olympic medallist Rajindra Campbell breaks own Jamaican shot-put record in Zagreb
Jamaican shot putter Rajindra Campbell made more history at the Ivan Ivancic Memorial in Zagreb on Saturday.
The 28-year-old, who became the first Jamaican to medal in a throws event at the Olympic Games with his bronze medal in Paris, established a new national record of 22.31m to finish third at Saturday’s meet behind American Olympic and World champion and world record holder Ryan Crouser who threw a meet record 22.93m to win and Payton Otterdahl who threw 22.46m in second.
Campbell opened his competition with 21.05m before going down to 20.61m in the second round.
He then signaled his intent for a big throw with 21.56m in round three before unleashing his national record-breaking throw in round four.
He fouled his next two attempts which didn’t matter as no one else was able to eclipse his mark.
Campbell broke his own previous national record 22.22m done in Madrid last year.
Clarke pleased with first Diamond League win; hoping for personal best at Diamond League final in Brussels
Jamaican World under-20 400m record holder Roshawn Clarke is pleased after securing his first win on the Diamond League circuit in Zurich on Thursday.
The former Camperdown High star produced a fast 47.49 to take the win ahead of Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba (47.58) and Estonia’s Rasmus Magi (48.02).
Thursday was Clarke’s fourth Diamond League appearance. He made his debut on the circuit at last year’s edition of the Zurich Diamond League on August 31, 2023.
“It means a lot because I came out here trying to get myself into the Diamond League final so I was trying to rack up as much points as possible and I came out with the win,” he said in a post-race interview with Citius Mag.
“I’m very pleased with my first Diamond League win and it came in Zurich. What better place?”
The 20-year-old was a finalist at the Olympic Games in Paris but unfortunately failed to finish after clipping the eighth then smashing into the ninth hurdle while in a battle with Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos for the bronze medal.
Clarke spoke about using that disappointment as motivation to finish out the season on a strong note.
“Strong-minded. I had disappointment in Paris and that has kept me pushing to make myself even better,” he said.
“I want to come back stronger. I did not finish in the final at the Olympics so I use that as motivation to keep my season going,” he added.
Speaking of finishing out the season strong, Clarke’s winning time on Thursday is the second fastest time of his young career, bettered only by his national record and world junior record 47.34 which he ran in the semi-finals at the World Championships in Budapest last year.
Running a time that fast at this stage of the season on the back of that disappointment in Paris is a sign of Clarke’s mental fortitude that should see him being a medal threat in the event for a long time.
Clarke’s mind will now shift to the Diamond League final in Brussels from September 13 to 14.
“My goal is to go out there, run my race, run as best as possible and try to come out with a personal best in my last race for the season,” he said.
Grenada's Anderson Peters feels he's returning to top form ahead of Diamond League final
Grenadian javelin thrower and two-time world champion Anderson Peters believes he is regaining his best form just in time for the Diamond League finals in Brussels. Peters, who claimed bronze at the Paris Olympics in August, secured victory at Thursday's Diamond League meeting in Zurich with a throw of 85.72m.
Though not a season's best—his top mark this year being 90.61m—Peters is encouraged by his progress, especially after recovering from illness. "It still feels like I am coming back," Peters admitted. "After Lausanne, I was sick with the flu, so my body is still recovering. I have not been training, just relaxed and tried to recover. So it still feels like my body is on the way to top competition form."
Despite the setback, Peters remains focused on finishing the season strong, with the Diamond League final in Brussels as his next target. "I was looking forward to competing here and seeing what my body can produce. I've got just one more competition for this year and I am done. Definitely, it is Brussels. It’s going to be my third time in the Diamond League final, and it will be my shot at the win."
Looking ahead to the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Peters is confident in his ability to peak at the right time. The World Championships will take place later in the season, but Peters is unfazed, having previously won his world title in Doha in October. "That is something we know how to do, and it is just a matter of doing it again," he remarked.
Peters also reflected on the unpredictable nature of javelin throwing, a quality he relishes. "The beauty of the javelin throw is that it is an unexpected event. One day you throw 90m, and another day you throw 80. It’s a little bit unpredictable, but that’s why most javelin throwers like it. You never know when you’ll get a good throw or when the world record could be broken," Peters said, referencing Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who set an Olympic record of 92m in Paris.
"I like competing, and that keeps me going. That’s what I live for," Peters added. He also shared that he had already returned to Grenada briefly after the Paris Olympics to celebrate his success. "After Paris, I managed to go home for three days, so I’ve already had the celebrations, and it was good."
As Peters gears up for his final competition of the season in Brussels, the Grenadian star is eager to continue pushing his limits as he seeks another Diamond League crown.
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