Kenya's Wanyonyi wins 2025 World Athletics Male Track Athlete of the Year award

World 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi. [AFP]

Emmanuel Wanyonyi was last night crowned the 2025 World Athletics Male Track Athlete of the Year.

The 21-year-old claimed the award after a breakout season that included World Championship success, a Diamond League title, and standout performances across the year.

Wanyonyi’s 2025 campaign featured a dominant performance at the world championships in Tokyo, where he clocked a championship record time of 1:41.44 in the 800m, earning gold and delivering the world-leading mark for the year.

Male Track Athlete of the Year Winner ?

??’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi is your Male Track Athlete of the Year ? #AthleticsAwards pic.twitter.com/2KRNrK9lKX — World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) November 30, 2025

His season also included four of the year's top six 800m performances, underscoring his status as one of the discipline’s brightest talents.

He is only the third Kenyan man to win the prestigious honour since its inception in 1988. 

The World Athletics Awards ceremony, held in Monaco on Sunday evening, crowned Wanyonyi ahead of American sprint sensation Noah Lyles, cementing his place among the sport’s elite. His triumph ensures the award remains on the African continent, following Letsile Tebogo’s remarkable 2024 season for Botswana.

Wanyonyi joins an elite line of Kenyan male greats who have previously claimed the honour: David Rudisha and Eliud Kipchoge. World Athletics President Sebastian Coe lauded the winners, describing the event as a celebration of the best in track, along with the athletes who push the sport forward.

“Tonight, we honour our greatest men’s and women’s athletes and rising stars across track, field, and beyond,” Coe said. He highlighted the theme of the night for the athletes, by the athletes and thanked participants for contributing to a landmark 2025 season that featured a record-breaking World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

Alongside Wanyonyi, three Kenyans also picked up awards during the ceremony. Sabastian Sawe was named the Out-of-Stadium Athlete of the Year after capturing victories in the London and Berlin Marathons, the latter with a world-leading time of 2:02:16. Edmund Serem, just 17, earned the Rising Star of 2025 award after a bronze in the 3000m steeplechase in Tokyo, becoming one of the youngest honorees on the night.

The evening’s top honours went to World champions Mondo Duplantis and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who were named World Athletes of the Year for their exceptional performances across 2025.