The World Athletics (that's the new brand name of the IAAF, and a somewhat awkward one without a dangling "federation", "organisation" of whatnot) has published the list of the five finalists among which they will select the athlete of the year.
The men finalists are
Joshua Cheptegei (UGA)
Sam Kendricks (USA)
Eliud Kipchoge (KEN)
Noah Lyles (USA)
Karsten Warholm (NOR)
I stand by my previous choice of Kipchoge and Warholm in that order. My choice for third goes to Cheptegei. I must confess that I had hesitated a lot before opting for Barshim for third place but Cheptegei was my very next choice so it is natural to give him the third place now. As to what the WA will finally decide, I cannot make any confident prediction. Kipchoge was nominated last year, so will he carry the trophy for a second year in a row? (But then there is the precedent of Bolt, so one never knows). Warholm obtained the european athlete of the year title, so this, somehow, diminishes his chances. Could it be Cheptegei? Well, I cross my fingers.
And the women
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM)
Sifan Hassan (NED)
Brigid Kosgei (KEN)
Dalilah Muhammad (USA)
Yulimar Rojas (VEN)
Muhamamd, Hassan and Kosgei are my top three in that order. My favourite is clearly Muhammad. I don't believe that Fraser-Pryce is worth a nomination among the five finalists. To my eyes she is not even the best female sprinter of the year. Had I to decide who should have been among the top five I would have chosen Chepkoech instead of Fraser-Pryce.
And one final remark. Perusing the WA finalists list one remarks that we have 80 % of runners, 20 % of jumpers and 0 % of throwers (to say nothing of the combined events). Does this really reflect today's situation in athletics? I am not quite convinced.
The rising stars list was also made public a few days ago.
Here is the men's list
Selemon Barega (ETH)
Alison dos Santos (BRA)
Lamecha Girma (ETH)
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR)
Mykhaylo Kokhan (UKR)
And the women's list
Britany Anderson (JAM)
Lemlem Hailu (ETH)
Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR)
Glenda Morejon (ECU)
Sha’Carri Richardson (USA)
When it comes to the rising starts list mine diverges appreciably from the one of the IAAF. One reason for this is that the IAAF limits this list to athletes who are in the U20 category, while I don't. If an athlete is 21 or 22 and to my eyes she/he is a rising stard I do not hesitate to include her/him in my list. Curiously the European Athletics federation is more permissive about the rising star's age. So the european rising stars this years were Y. Mahuchikh (I just hope she obtains the world award as well) and N. Kaul.
Of course, I must also be honest and admit that I do not follow the middle- and especially the long-distances with the same interest as the rest. Hence the absence of Barega, Girma and Hailu from my lists. The one I was aware of was Sha’Carri Richardson but, since her participation at the US trials was less than satisfactory, I opted not including her in the list. In the case of Alison (Piu) dos Santos, this is a real omission of mine.
It is due to the fact that, after the accident he suffered when still a baby he has no hair on a large part of his head, giving the impression that he is older than his 19 years. I am happy to repair this faux pas of mine here.
And I must make a special mention of J. Ingebrigtsen. I keep my fingers crossed for the IAAF to nominate him rising star of the year. They should have done this last year and nominate him jointly with A. Duplantis. This is precisely what the European Federation did. I have a tendency to classify him along with "grown-ups" which is not quite fair. He had an excellent year but both his finals in the World's were not as good as expected due to the tactics he chose. Let's see how the IAAF deals with this.
The men finalists areJoshua Cheptegei (UGA)
Sam Kendricks (USA)
Eliud Kipchoge (KEN)
Noah Lyles (USA)
Karsten Warholm (NOR)
I stand by my previous choice of Kipchoge and Warholm in that order. My choice for third goes to Cheptegei. I must confess that I had hesitated a lot before opting for Barshim for third place but Cheptegei was my very next choice so it is natural to give him the third place now. As to what the WA will finally decide, I cannot make any confident prediction. Kipchoge was nominated last year, so will he carry the trophy for a second year in a row? (But then there is the precedent of Bolt, so one never knows). Warholm obtained the european athlete of the year title, so this, somehow, diminishes his chances. Could it be Cheptegei? Well, I cross my fingers.
And the womenShelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM)
Sifan Hassan (NED)
Brigid Kosgei (KEN)
Dalilah Muhammad (USA)
Yulimar Rojas (VEN)
Muhamamd, Hassan and Kosgei are my top three in that order. My favourite is clearly Muhammad. I don't believe that Fraser-Pryce is worth a nomination among the five finalists. To my eyes she is not even the best female sprinter of the year. Had I to decide who should have been among the top five I would have chosen Chepkoech instead of Fraser-Pryce.
And one final remark. Perusing the WA finalists list one remarks that we have 80 % of runners, 20 % of jumpers and 0 % of throwers (to say nothing of the combined events). Does this really reflect today's situation in athletics? I am not quite convinced.
The rising stars list was also made public a few days ago.
Here is the men's listSelemon Barega (ETH)
Alison dos Santos (BRA)
Lamecha Girma (ETH)
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR)
Mykhaylo Kokhan (UKR)
And the women's listBritany Anderson (JAM)
Lemlem Hailu (ETH)
Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR)
Glenda Morejon (ECU)
Sha’Carri Richardson (USA)
When it comes to the rising starts list mine diverges appreciably from the one of the IAAF. One reason for this is that the IAAF limits this list to athletes who are in the U20 category, while I don't. If an athlete is 21 or 22 and to my eyes she/he is a rising stard I do not hesitate to include her/him in my list. Curiously the European Athletics federation is more permissive about the rising star's age. So the european rising stars this years were Y. Mahuchikh (I just hope she obtains the world award as well) and N. Kaul.
Of course, I must also be honest and admit that I do not follow the middle- and especially the long-distances with the same interest as the rest. Hence the absence of Barega, Girma and Hailu from my lists. The one I was aware of was Sha’Carri Richardson but, since her participation at the US trials was less than satisfactory, I opted not including her in the list. In the case of Alison (Piu) dos Santos, this is a real omission of mine.
It is due to the fact that, after the accident he suffered when still a baby he has no hair on a large part of his head, giving the impression that he is older than his 19 years. I am happy to repair this faux pas of mine here.
And I must make a special mention of J. Ingebrigtsen. I keep my fingers crossed for the IAAF to nominate him rising star of the year. They should have done this last year and nominate him jointly with A. Duplantis. This is precisely what the European Federation did. I have a tendency to classify him along with "grown-ups" which is not quite fair. He had an excellent year but both his finals in the World's were not as good as expected due to the tactics he chose. Let's see how the IAAF deals with this.
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