Emmanuel Wanyonyi

The 17-year-old triple jumper enjoyed an impressive year winning the Carifta title in Jamaica in April, the World U20 title in Colombia in a U18 best and personal best of 17.27m and had the six best U20 performances of the year. Hibbert is also Jamaica’s national champion.

The former Kingston College student who is now at the University of Arkansas joins four other impressive nominees vying for the title that will be announced at the World Athletics Awards later this year.

Among them is Frenchman Anthony Ammirati, the World U20 pole vault champion, who like Hibbert boasts the six best U20 performances of the year. Ammirati won the bronze medal at the French championships.

The impressive Erriyon Knighton of the USA is also among the nominees. The bronze medallist at the World Championships in Oregon in July, Knighton also won the Diamond League 200m in Brussels and holds the World U20 200m record, an extraordinary 19.49.

Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo was also nominated. He is the World U20 100m champion, World U20 200m silver medallist and set the World U20 100m record of 9.91.

Last, but not least, is Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi, who was fourth in the 800m final at the World Championships, won the two-lapper at the Rabat Diamond League and was the fastest U20 in the world over 800m during the season.

The other finalists are the USA’s Erriyon Knighton and Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi.

According to World Athletics, the nominations reflect some of the standout performances that the sport has witnessed this year, at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23, World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 23, one-day meeting circuits and other events around the world.

Roshawn Clarke, 19, was fourth in World Championships 400m hurdles in Budapest in August. He equalled and then broke the world U20 record with 47.85 in Kingston and 47.34 in Budapest. Clarke is also the Jamaican champion and CARIFTA Games U20 champion.

Erriyon Knighton is the World Championships 200m silver medallist and the USA 200m champion. He also won Diamond League races in Florence and Oslo.

Emmanuel Wanyonyi is the World Championships 800m silver medallist and is the World cross country mixed relay champion. He also won Diamond League races in Rabat, Paris and Xiamen.

The winner of the 2023 Men’s Rising Star Award will be selected by an international panel of experts and be announced on World Athletics’ platforms on 11 December.