This archive report was first published on 12 November 2019.
On November 23, 2019, in Monaco, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) will announce the winners of the Athlete of the Year Award. Among the top contenders are Kenyan athletes Eliud Kipchoge and Brigid Kosgei, who have made a significant impact in the world of athletics this year.
Kipchoge, a two-time Olympic champion and world record holder in the marathon, has had an impressive year. He set a new world record in the marathon with a time of 2:01:39 at the Berlin Marathon in September 2018, and he also won the London Marathon in a course record time of 2:02:37. Additionally, he completed the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, Austria, with an unofficial time of 1:59:40.2, becoming the first human to run a marathon in under two hours.
Kosgei, on the other hand, has also had a remarkable year. She set a new world record in the women's marathon with a time of 2:14:04 at the Chicago Marathon in October 2019. She also won the London Marathon and ran a world-leading time of 1:05:28 for the half marathon and 1:04:28 on a downhill course.
The IAAF Athlete of the Year Award is given to the best male and female athletes in the world, as determined by a three-way voting process. The World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family cast their votes by email, while fans voted online via the IAAF's social media platforms. The Council's vote counted for 50% of the result, while the Athletics Family's votes and the public votes each counted for 25% of the final result.
