As the world awaits the announcement of the 2024 World Athletics Women’s Track Athlete of the Year, CANOC President Keith Joseph has expressed pride and support for St Lucia’s Julien Alfred, a finalist for the prestigious award alongside the USA’s Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. The award decision will be revealed on December 1, marking a historic moment for the Caribbean athlete, who already secured gold in the 100m and silver in the 200m at the Paris Olympics.

Joseph highlighted the significance of Alfred’s accomplishment, noting her meteoric rise from a small island with a population of under 150,000. “For the very first time in decades, a Caribbean athlete, not from any of the larger islands, and with a population of less than 150,000, is among the finalists. We are here referring to St Lucia’s track and field gem, Julien Alfred… who has literally stormed into the sporting history of her native land,” he stated.

Joseph traced Alfred’s journey from her early promise in athletics to her dominance at the CARIFTA Games, the NCAA Division 1, the World Athletics Indoor Championships, and the Central American and Caribbean Games, describing her victory in Paris as a “feat of pure beauty, grace, incredible confidence, and impeccable timing.”

Reflecting on the history of Caribbean success in track and field, Joseph drew parallels to other trailblazing athletes from the region. He recalled Arthur Wint’s first Olympic gold for Jamaica in 1948, Hasely Crawford’s 1976 win for Trinidad and Tobago, and this year’s historic achievements with the national anthems of Dominica and St Lucia being played for the first time at the Olympics. “In Paris, two of our region’s smallest islands – Dominica and St Lucia - had their anthems played for the first time at the Olympic Games. It was track and field athletics yet again,” Joseph said.

Joseph also acknowledged the achievements of other Caribbean athletes across various disciplines, especially those who have overcome unique challenges from small island nations. “We are generally considered small, even micro in some cases, but we are aware of which nations in our midst are the smallest and the very special challenges they face,” he emphasized.

In closing, Joseph extended CANOC’s full support for Alfred as she aims to etch her name in history as the World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year. “We extend best wishes to Julien Alfred in her quest to win the coveted title of World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year 2024. We certainly hope that she has the benefit of the votes of all of our members, etching her name in yet more sporting history in 2024,” he concluded.

Saint Lucia’s Olympic 100m champion, Julien Alfred, has finished second in the social media fan vote for the World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year, as reported by the St. Lucia Times. The fan voting, which closed on Monday, was conducted across platforms including X, Instagram, and Facebook, where Alfred made an impressive showing among the world’s top athletes.

At the close of voting, the USA’s Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone led the social media poll with a combined total nearing 190,000 votes, primarily driven by her strong Instagram performance. Alfred finished with 126,906 votes, securing her position ahead of Kipyegon, who amassed 98,000 votes, and Thomas, who rounded out the top with just over 92,000 votes.

Alfred dominated the Facebook poll, collecting 37,000 votes to lead that platform. She was closely followed by Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon, who secured 35,000 votes on Facebook. Kipyegon, a standout 1500m runner with three Olympic titles and a world record in her event, was Alfred’s main competition, as no other athlete came close to their tally, with the next highest reaching only 18,000 votes.

Instagram proved decisive for the vote, as USA’s 400m hurdles world record holder and Olympic champion, McLaughlin-Levrone, surged ahead with over 180,000 votes, taking a commanding lead. Alfred, alongside 200m Olympic champion Gabby Thomas and Dominican Republic’s 400m gold medalist Marileidy Paulino, each garnered over 80,000 votes on the platform.

X (formerly known as Twitter) saw lower voting figures overall, with Kipyegon gaining nearly 15,000 votes, followed by Beatrice Chebet, a 5K and 10K champion and world record holder in the 10K, with just over 5,000 votes. Alfred received more than 2,500 votes on the platform.

The social media vote, however, accounts for just 25 per cent of the final result, with the World Athletics Council’s vote contributing 50 per cent and the World Athletics Family’s vote adding the remaining 25 per cent. The top two nominees will be invited to the World Athletics Gala in Monaco this December, with the finalists determined by November 4. At that point, a final fan vote will be held on Inside Track, offering registered users another opportunity to weigh in on the selection of the World Athletes of the Year.

St Lucia's Julien Alfred and the Dominican Republic's Marileidy Paulino have been named among the six nominees for the 2024 World Athletics Women’s Track Athlete of the Year, following their remarkable achievements during the season. This nomination is part of the World Athletics Awards 2024, which recognizes the year’s top performers across various disciplines.

Alfred, who had a stellar year, claimed the Olympic 100m gold in Paris and also secured the World Indoor 60m title earlier in the year. She is also the Diamond League 100m champion. Her nomination is a testament to her exceptional performances that have solidified her as one of the premier sprinters on the global stage.

Paulino, the Dominican Republic’s 400m star, also earned her spot on the list with her dominant displays throughout the season. Unbeaten in 2024, Paulino clinched the Olympic 400m title in Paris and was crowned the Diamond League 400m champion, a testament to her consistency and strength over the quarter-mile distance.

Joining Alfred and Paulino as nominees are Kenya's Beatrice Chebet, the Olympic 5000m and 10,000m champion; Faith Kipyegon, another Kenyan who set the World 1500m record and took Olympic gold in the same event; Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of the USA, the Olympic 400m hurdles and 4x400m champion; and Gabby Thomas of the USA, who won the Olympic 200m and was part of the gold-medal-winning 4x100m and 4x400m teams.

The finalists for the Track Athlete of the Year will be determined through public voting on World Athletics' social media platforms, with voting set to close on October 27. This year’s nominees highlight some of the most memorable performances at major events like the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the World Athletics Indoor Championships, and the one-day meeting circuits.

In addition to the impressive list of female nominees, World Athletics has also announced the contenders for the 2024 Men’s Track Athlete of the Year. These nominees represent some of the most outstanding performances from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and other major events across the season.

The nominees for 2024 Men’s Track Athlete of the Year are:

Rai Benjamin (USA)

Olympic 400m hurdles and 4x400m champion

World 400m hurdles leader

 Grant Holloway (USA)

Olympic 110m hurdles champion

World indoor 60m hurdles champion and world record holder

 Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway)

Olympic 5000m champion

World 3000m record

 Noah Lyles (USA)

Olympic 100m champion

Olympic 200m bronze medalist

 Letsile Tebogo (Botswana)

Olympic 200m champion

World 200m leader

 Emmanuel Wanyonyi (Kenya)

Olympic 800m champion

Diamond League 800m champion

 These nominees reflect the incredible depth of talent in men’s track and field, with standout performances in multiple disciplines, including sprints, hurdles, middle-distance, and long-distance events.

Voting is now open on World Athletics' social media platforms and will close on October 27. The finalists for both the men’s and women’s awards will be selected based on public votes, and the winners will be revealed at the World Athletics Awards later this year.

Track and field superstars Shericka Jackson and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone are set for an exciting clash in the 60m at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix at the New Balance Track in Boston on February 4.

Jackson, who finished as runner-up in Jamaica’s National Sportswoman of the Year awards last week, had a magnificent 2022 season which saw her 21.45 to become the fastest woman alive in the 200m on her way to winning gold in the event at the World Championships in Eugene.

She also ran a new personal best of 10.71 to finish second in the 100m behind Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce. Jackson, 28, has a 60m personal best of 7.04 which she ran to finish sixth at the World Indoor Championships in Serbia last year.

The USA’s McLaughlin-Levrone, 23, is also coming off a spectacular year which was crowned with her being named as the World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year in December.

In July, she became the first woman in history to run a sub-51 second 400m hurdles when she ran a sensational 50.68 to win her maiden 400m world title. That was after she broke her own then-world record of 51.46, which she ran to win gold at the Tokyo Olympics, with a 51.41 effort at the US Championships in June. McLaughlin-Levrone has never run a 60m race.

World Championship 100m finalist Aleia Hobbs and World Indoor Championships 60m silver medallist Mikiah Briscoe will also be in the field in Boston. 

Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is among the five finalists for World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year Award.

The five-time world 100m champion made the cut after the three-way voting process determined the finalists.

The World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family cast their votes by email, while fans logged their decisions online via the World Athletics social media platforms where a record 1.3 million votes were registered.

The World Athletics Council’s vote counted for 50 per cent of the result, while the World Athletics Family’s votes and the public votes each counted for 25 per cent of the final result.

Shericka Jackson, the 2022 World 200m champion, failed to make the cut.

Fraser-Pryce being among the finalists was not surprising given the outstanding year she had last season when she became the first running athlete to win five world titles in the same event and ran a record seven times under 10.7s including a world-leading 10.62s.

She was also the Diamond League champion for the fifth time in her illustrious career.

Also among the finalists is the newly minted 100m hurdles world-record holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria, who added the Diamond League and Commonwealth Games title to her resume during the past season. She set a new world record of 12.12 during the semi-finals of the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon in July before running a wind-aided 12.06 to win her first global title.

Another world-record holder, Sydney McLaughlin of the United States, is also among the finalists. The super-talented American broke the 400m hurdles world record twice during the season – 51.41 at the US Championships before lowering it to a jaw-dropping 50.68 in the final of the World Championships.

McLaughlin won a second gold medal in Oregon as a member of the USA’s 4x400m relay team.

Also among the finalists is Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas, the 2022 World Indoor and Outdoor triple jump champion. The 2022 Diamond League champion also improved upon her own world record in the event with a 15.74m performance in Belgrade.

Peru’s Kimberly Garcia completes the five finalists. Garcia, the World 20km race walk champion is her country’s first ever World Athletics Championships medallist. Garcia is also the World 35km race walk champion in a South American record that saw her complete a race walk double.

She is also World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships 20km bronze medallist.

The winner of World Athletics Women Athlete of the Year will be announced in early December.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson and Shaunae Miller-Uibo have been named among the 10 women nominated for 2022 World Athletics’ Female Athlete of the Year Award.