Eliud Kipchoge nominated for IAAF Male World Athlete of the Year award

World marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge's mother, Janet Rotich (R) watches a television broadcast on October 12, 2019, with relatives at her home in the village of Kapsisisywa, some 30kms southwest of Eldoret, in Kenya, as they celebrate Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge victory. [Photo by BRIAN ONGORO / AFP]

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has released a list of nominees for 2019 Male World Athlete of the Year.

Guess whose name has been included? The greatest marathoner of his generation and Kenya’s most-daring son Eliud Kipchoge has made the shortlist for obvious reasons.

Kipchoge, on October 12, 2019, made history, busting the mythical two-hour barrier for the marathon on a specially prepared course in a huge Vienna park.

With an unofficial time of 1hr 59min 40.2sec, the Olympic champion became the first ever to run a marathon in under two hours in the Prater park with the course readied to make it as even as possible.

Kenya’s Timothy Cheruyiot has also been nominated. Cheruiyot won a silver medal at the 2017 World Championships in the 1500 metres event, he has also won the 1500 m Diamond League on three occasions: in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Recently, he walked away with a gold medal in 1500 m at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar.

 “The IAAF is pleased to confirm a list of 11 nominees for Male World Athlete of the Year who were selected by an international panel of athletics experts, comprising representatives from all six continental areas of the IAAF.

“The nominations of 11 athletes reflects the remarkable range of exceptional performances that the sport has witnessed this year, at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha, and in the Diamond League and in road and cross country events. The IAAF’s Competition Performance Ranking show that the World Championships in Doha was the highest quality competition in the history of the event,” IAAF said in a statement on Monday.

This week marks the opening of the voting process for the 2019 World Athletes of the Year ahead of the World Athletics Awards 2019 in Monaco on Saturday 23 November.

The female nominees will be announced tomorrow, Tuesday 15 October.

The nominees for 2019 Male World Athlete of the Year are:

Eliud Kipchoge (KEN)
- won London Marathon in a course record of 2:02:37
- ran 1:59:40.2 for 42.195km in Vienna

Timothy Cheruyiot (KEN)
- won world 1500m title
- won Diamond League 1500m title
- won 10 of his 11 outdoor races across all distances

Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge (L) celebrates with his wife Grace Sugut after busting the mythical two-hour barrier for the marathon on October 12, 2019, in Vienna. [Photo by ALEX HALADA / AFP]

Donavan Brazier (USA)
- won world 800m title in a championship record of 1:42.34
- won Diamond League title
- won four of his five outdoor 800m races

Christian Coleman (USA)
- won world 100m title in a world-leading 9.76
- won world 4x100m title in a world-leading 37.10
- won four of his five races at 100m

Joshua Cheptegei (UGA)
-
won world cross-country title in Aarhus
- won world 10,000m title in a world-leading 26:48.36
- won Diamond League 500m title

Steven Gardiner (BAH)
- won world 400m title in 43.48
- undefeated all year over 400m
- ran world-leading 32.26 indoors over 300m

Sam Kendricks (USA)
- won world pole vault title
- cleared a world-leading 6.06m to win the US title
- won 12 of his 17 outdoor competitions, including the Diamond League final

Noah Lyles (USA)
- won world 200m and 4x100m titles
- ran a world-leading 19.50 in Lausanne to move to fourth on the world all-time list
- won Diamond League titles at 100m and 200m

2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships - Aarhus, Denmark - March 30, 2019 Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei poses with the winners medal after winning the men's race. [REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel]

Daniel Stahl (SWE)
- won the world discus title
- threw a world-leading 71.86m to move to fifth on the world all-time list
- won 13 of his 16 competitions, including the Diamond League final

Christian Taylor (USA)
- won the world triple jump title
- won Diamond League title
- won 10 of his 14 competitions

Karsten Warholm (NOR)
- won the world 400m hurdles title
- undefeated indoors and outdoors at all distances, including at the Diamond League final and the European Indoor Championships
- clocked world-leading 46.92, the second-fastest time in history

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