For the second year in a row S. McLaughlin occupies the top position in my classification. Last year, in a decision I had trouble understanding, World Athletics passed her over for the year's best title preferring E. Thompson. Let us hope that this year they will not find any excuses (my greatest fear being that they nominate Fraser-Price, who as you'll see is not among my ten best). What McLaughlin did in Eugene was unique, besting even Warholm's feat at the Olympics. Seeing the ease with which she obtained that record, one can start dreaming about a sub-50 time (and, why not, a sub-48 in the 400 m flat).
The second place is occupied by T. Amusan. Breaking a world record twice was really extraordinary, even if her 12.06 s cannot be homologated due to the wind speed (but I am not sure that a strong wind is really favourable in the case of hurdles).
The third place goes to S. Jackson. Her 21.45 s is second only to Flo-Jo's 200 m world record (and she backed it up with a 10.71 s in the 100 m). Given her amazing speed and the fact that she is initially a 400 m specialist (with 49.74 s personal best) she is (just as McLaughlin) a candidate for a sub-48 time, if she decides to move back to the longer distance.
Y. Rojas would have joined the top three, had she managed to break the more than 25 years old championships record of Kravets. Still, her 15.47 m in Eugene is the fifth best performance of all times.
F. Kipyegon has by now established herself as the world's best female miler. Two times olympic and world champion and three times Diamond League final winner, the only thing that is missing in her list is the world record. I am convinced that she can be the first woman to break the 3:50 barrier.
After having won the indoor world title with 7.06 m I. Vuleta (Spanovic) went on to win the Europeans with the very same performance. And despite the fact that her performance at the World's was really below-par, the fact that she could keep at bay the world champion, M. Mihambo, during the Europeans does suffice for me in order to include her in my top list.
N. Thiam won both the World's and the Europeans. And it has not been easy. She had to show all her talent, digging deep in her reserves improving even her 800 m personal best in the World's in order to obtain gold. I have been following her since her beginnings and I am convinced that if one day she decides to complete a decathlon the world record will not resist.
A. Drisbioti occupies a well-merited place in the year's best list after her brilliant double win in race-walking at the Europeans. (To be fair K. Garcia-León did exactly the same thing in the World's, winning both the 20 and 35 km and should, in principle, appear also in the top list. But, as you know, I don't care about race-walking and I never comment on this discipline. Drisbioti's presence is an exception, obviously a question of national pride).
F. Bol was second in the 400 m hurdles in Eugene and went on to win both 400 m in the European championships, succeeding where Warholm failed four years ago. To my memory nobody has obtained this double victory in a major championship.
For the last, tenth place, I hesitated a lot between the triplet of 800 m runners Mu-Hodgkinson-Moraa (the first two are mentioned in the rising star section), the doublet Miller-Paulino, the two 400 m stars, and N. Jeruto, who is the new 3000 m steeplechase star (although I cherish the hope that B. Chepkoech will be able to come back to top shape next year).
In the end I opted for Y. Mahuchikh. (Believe me, this has nothing to do with the fact that she is ukrainian. I strongly oppose the mixing of politics with sport and I will never consider a different treatment of ukrainian athletes under the influence of the current political situation). My choice is simply based on the fact that, in the absence of M. Lasitskene, Mahuchikh is simply the best high jumper today. She proved this by going for the world record after having jumped 2.05 m in September.
For the men's lit the choice for the top position was a simple one. A. Duplantis is the best pole vaulter ever. He broke the world record twice this year, and both times during a world championship. He even managed, what is considered as exceptional, to have an outdoors record better than the indoors one. He was already number one in my 2020 list.
The second place was also a no-brainer. E. Kipchoge is the best Marathon runner ever (having eclipsed even the mythical Abebe Bikila). His recent world record of 2:01:09 took 30 s off the previous one. He was number one in my top list of 2018 and 2019. Curiously he has never won the world title in the Marathon (but he did win the 5000 m in 2003). By 2024 Kipchoge will be 40 years old and the Paris Marathon route is a particularly taxing one with a 438 m elevation (even worse than that of the classical Athens Marathon). Will Kipchoge go for a third olympic victory? If he does and wins that will be the occasion to remember the famous phrase pronounced for Diagoras: «Κάτθανε, Διαγόρα, οὐ καὶ ἐς Ὄλυμπον ἀναβήσῃ».
For the third place N. Lyles is the hands-down winner. With 19.31 s over 200 m he is the third performer of all times and he managed to push M. Johnson out of the US record list. He has four of the best five performances of the year (E. Knighton being having the third best). Even Bolt's world record of 19.19 s looks now within Lyles' reach.
A. DosSantos would have made the top three hadn't he be pushed down by Kipchoge's fabulous world record. Speaking of world records it is not impossible that, given his progression, Dos Santos grabs Warholm's record next year.
M. Tentoglou was the best long jumper of the year, losing the world title on a lucky jump by the chinese athlete. He won the world indoors, the Europeans and the Diamond League final. He has a huge talent and I hope that he will materialise it going beyond his 8.60 m personal best. First objective the 8.66 m greek national record.
K. Ceh dominated the discus throw and while he lost the Europeans he was the most consistent thrower of the year with 5 wins over 70 m and a 71.27 m (but curiously he does not have the longest throw of the year, Stahl, who had a below-par year, having thrown 71.47 in June).
A. Peters had four javelin competitions won with over 90 m throws, with a best of 93.07 m and did conserve his 2019 world title winning in Eugene with 90.54 m. (Curiously he managed to los the Commonwealth title to A. Nadeem, but the latter's victory was a well-merited one with a 90+ throw).
E. Korir added the world 800 m title to his olympic one from last year. And he went on to win the Diamond League final. That's more than enough for him to deserve a place in the year's top list.
From here onwards the choice for the top ten list becomes somewhat complicated. M. Barshim won his third consecutive world title in high jump but then his performance in the Diamond League final was more than mediocre. G. Tamberi won the Europeans and the Diamond League final but he did not shine in the World's where he finished out side the medals. P. Fajdek won his fifth consecutive world title in hammer throw but he managed to lose the european title to W. Nowicki. R. Crouser won (finally) a world title in shot put but his end of the season was so-so, and J. Kovacs profited in order to nick the diamond in the Diamond League final and become, with 23.23 m the second performer of all times. J. Cheptegei added a second world title over 10000 m but his performance in the 5000 m, where he is the reigning olympic champion, was somewhat disappointing. So, while all the athletes just mentioned are, in principle worth including in the top list I will make a different choice.
J. Ingebrigtsen lost the world title over 1500 m on what I consider a tactical error (and a fast finisher). But he went on to win the 5000 m and he obtained gold over both distances in the Europeans. Adding to this his victory in the Diamond League final and to my eyes he amply deserves his place among the top ten.
I may surprise my readers with my last choice: K. Mayer. He won his second world title showing, what should be obvious, that the decathlon is won only at the end of the second day. Admittedly Mayer profited from the withdrawal of Warner due to injury but his victory in a decathlon where he was 6th at the end of the first day is a proof of his immense talent. (Interestingly enough, while Mayer took the lead after the 9th the event, N. Kaul won the Europeans, after Mayer's withdrawal, entering the 10th event 178 points behind the leader).
I cannot close my year's best list without mentioning K. James. For more than 10 years he has been a protagonist in the 400 m. He has a medal of each colour in both the Olympics and the World's. This year he won (for the second time after 2011) the Diamond League final. He has never had the world record but for me he is the best 400 m runner.
Kirani James in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics where he won the bronze medal
This year World Athletics decide to separate the nomination of the rising stars from that of the senior athletes. As a consequence, I will delay the publication of my own list (which, by the way, is ready) by a few days, so as not to be completely out of phase with the WA announcements.
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