FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Muhammad and Kipchoge named World Athletes of the Year
Eliud Kipchoge and Dalilah Muhammad have been named the male and female
World Athletes of the Year at the World Athletics Awards 2019, held at the
Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on Saturday (23).
Kipchoge, the winner of the award last year, added to his phenomenal
marathon CV in 2019. In April he captured his fourth victory at the London
Marathon with a 2:02:37 course record, the third fastest performance of all
time. The 35-year-old Kenyan followed up in October by blasting through the
distance's two-hour barrier with a 1:59:40.2 performance at the Ineos159
Challenge in Vienna.
Muhammad, 29, broke the world record in the 400m hurdles twice this year,
first with a 52.20 performance at the US Championships in July to eclipse a
mark which had stood since 2003. Muhammad broke it again at the World
Athletics Championships Doha 2019, clocking 52.16 in one of the
championships' most eagerly-awaited finals to claim the world title for the
first time. Muhammad also won world gold in the 4x400m relay and won five
of her seven races.
Male Rising Star - Selemon Barega
Barega, 19, was the silver medallist in the 5000m at the World
Championships, and finished fifth in the senior race at the World Cross
Country Championships Aarhus 2019. The Ethiopian also produced world U20
leads at both the 5000m and 10,000m with 12:53.04 and 26:49.46,
respectively.
Female Rising Star - Yaroslava Mahuchikh
Mahuchikh, the 2017 world U18 champion, continued her ascension into the
high jump elite at the World Championships where she twice broke the world
U20 record, first with a leap of 2.02m and again with a clearance of 2.04m
to secure the silver medal. The 18-year-old also won the European U20
title.
Coaching Achievement - Brother Colm O'Connell
During a coaching career that has spanned more than four decades,
O'Connell, an Irish missionary who has lived in Iten, Kenya, since 1976,
has coached 25 world champions and four Olympic gold medallists, including
Wilson Kipketer and David Rudisha, the World Athletes of the Year in 1997
and 2010, respectively. Kipketer presented him with his award.
Fair Play Award - Braima Suncar Dabo
Dabo, a distance runner from Guinea-Bissau, made headlines around the world
after he helped fellow runner, Jonathan Busby of Aruba, to the finish line
during their opening round heat of the 5000m at the World Championships.
Busby was near collapse with about 200 metres left in the race, when Dabo
stopped to help his distressed fellow competitor.
President's Award - Vikki Orvice
Orvice, a long-time British athletics journalist for The Sun, passed away
last February after a long battle with cancer. Orvice served as chairperson
of the British Athletics Writers Association (BAWA) between 2003 and 2005,
the first woman to be appointed the role. She was also vice-chair of the
Football Writers Association, one of the directors of Women In Football and
a member of the IAAF Press and Media Operations Advisory Group.
Woman of the Year - Derartu Tulu
The Ethiopian distance running legend who won Olympic 10,000m titles in
1992 and 2000, Tulu has served as acting president of the Ethiopian
Athletics Federation since November 2018. She is also a Council member of
the African Athletics Confederation and vice president of the East Africa
Athletics Region.
Athletics Photograph of the Year - Felix Sanchez Arrazola
The Spanish photographer’s image of a jubilant Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
moments after winning her fourth world 100m title was judged to be the
winner from this year’s shortlist of three photographs. Arrazola also won
the award in 2018.
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