Paris Olympic 200m and Marathon champions, Letsile Tebogo and Sifan Hassan have been named the 2024 World Athletics Athlete of the Year Award for both men and women.
Hassan and Tebogo delivered a remarkable performance on the global stage especially during the Paris Summer Olympics.
“At the end of what has been a stellar year for athletics, we are delighted to reveal our list of World Athletes of the Year – both in their respective disciplines and overall. I congratulate all our award winners, and all of the athletes nominated for these honors, and I thank them for inspiring us all with their performances this year.” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe.
| Category | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Women’s World Athlete of the Year | Sifan Hassan | Netherlands |
| Men’s World Athlete of the Year | Letsile Tebogo | Botswana |
| Women’s Track | Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone | USA |
| Women’s Field | Yaroslava Mahuchikh | Ukraine |
| Women’s Out of Stadium | Sifan Hassan | Netherlands |
| Men’s Track | Letsile Tebogo | Botswana |
| Men’s Field | Mondo Duplantis | Sweden |
| Men’s Out of Stadium | Tamirat Tola | Ethiopia |
| Women’s Rising Star | Sembo Almayew | Ethiopia |
| Men’s Rising Star | Mattia Furlani | Italy |
READ ALSO: Race Participant dies at Singapore Marathon making it the 3rd death in event’s history
At the Paris Olympics Letsile finished 6th in the 100 m final with a time of 9.86 seconds, and made history in the 200 m event where he truly shone, clinching the gold with a blazing 19.46 seconds, breaking an Asian record (AR) in the process. Letsile also took silver in the 4 × 400 m relay, contributing to a team effort that crossed the line in 2:54.5. He claimed a first ever Olympic gold medal in any sport for Botswana.
Hassan’s treble medal in Paris was capped by her winning the final athletics gold medal of the Games with her triumph in the marathon in an Olympic record of 2:22.55. That performance came just 37 hours after Hassan claimed bronze in the 10,000m, and six days after her first medal in the Paris – also bronze – in the 5000m.