World Athlete of the Year – how is it chosen.

The standout athletes of the year will again be celebrated at the World Athletics Awards 2025. Like last year, there will be three separate awards for women and three for men, recognising the athletes of the year for track, field and out-of-stadium events. There will also be men’s and women’s awards for an overall World Athlete of the Year.

A panel of international experts has compiled a long list of nominees for each of the three main award categories. Voting will take place to determine the two finalists in each category.

The World Athletics Council’s vote will count for 50% of the result, while the World Athletics Family’s votes and social media votes will each count for 25% of the result.

The World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family will cast their votes by email, while the social vote will be open on Facebook, Instagram and X. Individual graphics for each nominee will be posted; a ‘like’ on Facebook and Instagram or a repost on X will count as one vote.

Once the finalists have been established, a fan vote will open, for all registered users of World Athletics to help determine the overall World Athletes of the Year.

The 2025 World Athletics Awards also includes the Rising Star awards, Coaching Achievement Award, Woman of the Year, Photograph of the Year, Member Federation Award and President’s Award.

Key dates:

13th to 19th October:  – vote open for track athletes of the year

20th to 26th October:  – vote open for field athletes of the year

27th October to 02nd November:  – vote open for out-of-stadium athletes of the year

03rd November:  – finalists announced for each category

03rd November:  – fan vote opens

09th November:  – fan vote closes

Moreover, as part of the World Athletics Awards 2025, World Athletics is pleased to confirm the nominees for Women’s Track Athlete of the Year and Men’s Track Athlete of the Year.

There are 05 nominees for these two categories, and a vote will take place to identify the two finalists for each. The nominations reflect some of the standout performances achieved during another memorable year for the sport, which peaked with the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25.

Nominees for 2025 Women’s Track Athlete of the Year:

Femke Bol, Netherlands:

• World and Diamond League 400m hurdles champion

• Undefeated in the 400m hurdles, with the top three performances of the year

Beatrice Chebet, Kenya:

• World 5000m and 10,000m champion

• World 5000m record

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, USA:

• World 100m, 200m and 4x100m champion

• Undefeated in the 100m, with the top five performances of the year

Faith Kipyegon, Kenya:

• World 1500m champion and 5000m silver

• World 1500m record

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, USA:

• World 400m and 4x400m champion

• Undefeated in 400m and 400m hurdles, with second-fastest 400m of all time

Nominees for 2025 Men’s Track Athlete of the Year:

Rai Benjamin, USA:

• World 400m hurdles champion

• Two of the top three 400m hurdles performances of the year

Jimmy Gressier, France:

• World 10,000m champion and 5000m bronze medallist

• Diamond League 3000m champion

Noah Lyles, USA:

• World 200m and 4x100m champion and 100m bronze medallist

• Unbeaten in the 200m, including the Diamond League title

Cordell Tinch, USA:

• World and Diamond League 110m hurdles champion

• Four of the top six performances of the year

Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Kenya:

• World and Diamond League 800m champion

• Four of the top six performances of the year

The vote to determine the Track Athlete of the Year finalists is now open on World Athletics social media platforms – on Facebook, Instagram and X. It will close on 19 October.

The nominees for the Field Athlete of the Year awards will be announced on 20 October and the nominees for the Out of Stadium Athlete of the Year awards will be announced on 27 October.

The overall women’s and men’s World Athlete of the Year award winners will be selected from among the track, field and out of stadium category winners.

Team Maverick