History maker Eliud Kipchoge and Diamond Trophy Champion Timothy Cheruiyot have been named among the 11 nominees for the IAAF Male Athlete of the Year.
Kipchoge who won the IAAF crown last year on the back of his world record run at the Berlin Marathon became the first man to run a marathon under two hours over the weekend in the Ineos 1:59 challenge.
Though the record was not acceptable via IAAF standards, the feat has gone on to inspire millions across the globe with IAAF among the first to laud him for his effort in the Austrian capital of Vienna.
Apart from his historic run in Vienna, Kipchoge also won the London Marathon earlier in the year before turning his focus on the challenge bankrolled by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe and his biochemical company Ineos.
Meanwhile, Timothy Cheruiyot who finally bagged his first-ever major title with a victory in the 1500m race at the IAAF World Championships in Doha adding on to his Diamond Trophy conquest will also line up for the award.
Others named in the 11-man shortlist include USA sprint duo of Noah Lyles and Chris Coleman as well as Ugandan distance runner Joshua Cheptegei.
A three-way voting process will determine the finalists. The IAAF Council and the IAAF Family will cast their votes by email, while fans can vote online via the IAAF’s social media platforms. Individual graphics for each nominee will be posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram this week; a ‘like’ on Facebook and Instagram or a retweet on Twitter will count as one vote. The IAAF Council’s vote will count for 50% of the result, while the IAAF Family’s votes and the public votes will each count for 25% of the final result.
Voting for the Male World Athlete of the Year closes on 4 November. At the conclusion of the voting process, five men and five women finalists will be announced by the IAAF.
This article was first published by Capital Sports.
