Sifan Hassan and Letsile Tebogo crowned Athletes of the Year

At a ceremony held in Monaco, Dutch marathon runner Sifan Hassan and Botswanan sprinter Letsile Tebogo were recognized as the Athletes of the Year by World Athletics. Hassan's astonishing performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics was the key factor in her selection; she remarkably garnered three medals in just one week, including a gold medal in the marathon and two bronze medals in the 5,000 meters. During the marathon, Hassan outpaced Ethiopia’s world record holder Tigist Assefa, finishing victorious by a narrow margin of three seconds, which highlighted her incredible endurance and skill on the track. Letsile Tebogo made history by being the first African athlete to win gold in the men's 200m at the Olympics, with a time of 19.46 seconds. This remarkable achievement occurred at the Stade de France, where he faced formidable competition from well-known American sprint stars such as Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles. Tebogo expressed his gratitude, emphasizing the significance of support from fans and his team in achieving this milestone for the continent of Africa. In addition to the winners of the major awards, World Athletics also honored several other remarkable athletes who demonstrated excellency during the Olympic Games. Armand Duplantis of Sweden was recognized in the men’s field category for setting a new pole vault world record of 6.26 meters while winning Olympic gold. Ukrainian high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh was celebrated as the women’s field winner after improving the world record to 2.10 meters at just 22 years of age while also securing Olympic gold. The awards included categories for both men's and women's track performances, where Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone received recognition for breaking her own world record in the 400m hurdles, finishing with a time of 50.37 seconds. Ethiopian marathon champion Tamirat Tola won the Out of Stadium award, acknowledging his achievements beyond the track. Rising stars recognized included Ethiopian steeplechaser Sembo Almayew and Italian long jumper Mattia Furlani. The ceremony also paid tribute to last year’s Men’s Out of Stadium Athlete of the Year, Kelvin Kiptum, who tragically passed away in a road accident earlier this year.