Jefferson-Wooden Leads Athlete of the Year Race. Image: World Athletics.
(The Post News)– Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, a triple sprint world champion, is the front-runner on the 2025 World Athletics Track Athlete of the Year nomination list.
On Monday, October 13, World Athletics unveiled the lengthy list of competitors, which included five men and five women. The top two male and female competitors in each of the three events, track, field, and out-of-stadium, will advance to the World Athlete of the Year final poll.
Female Athlete Nominees
Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (USA):
Jefferson-Wooden won gold in the 100, 200, and 4×100-meter relays at the World Championships, dominating the sprints this season. She recorded the five fastest times of 2025 and remained unbeaten in the 100-meter event, taking the lead at the Worlds with a timing of 10.61.
Femke Bol (Netherlands):
Bol won every race and won the World Championship and Diamond League titles during his flawless 400-meter hurdles season. She has declared her intention to switch to the 800m in 2026 and set three new personal records for the year, including a world-record 51.54.
Beatrice Chebet (Kenya):
Chebet repeated her 2024 Olympic dominance by winning double gold in the 5000m and 10,000m at the World Athletes Championships in Tokyo after breaking the 5000m world record at the Prefontaine Classic in July.
Faith Kipyegon (Kenya):
Kipyegon successfully defended her global championship and broke the 1500-meter record in the same event in Eugene. She also came in second to Chebet in the 5000 meters.
McLaughlin-Levrone (USA):
This season, McLaughlin-Levrone, who already holds the 400m hurdles world record, shocked everyone by winning the World Championships in the flat 400m with a time of 47.78. She added gold in the 4×400-meter relay and became the second-fastest woman in history.
Male Athlete Nominees
Noah Lyles (USA):
Lyles won the Diamond League and world titles after being undefeated in the 200m and suffering an injury that delayed his debut. Three of the four fastest times of the year were set by him, including a world-record 19.51 in the Worlds semi-finals. Additionally, he led the U.S. 4×100-meter relay team to victory.
Rai Benjamin (USA):
Benjamin won the 400-meter hurdles world title after overcoming a near-disqualification. In 2025, he recorded the second and third fastest times in the world.
Jimmy Gressier (France):
Gressier had a fantastic season, taking home the 10,000-meter world title and the 5000-meter bronze. He also won the Diamond League 3000 m title.
Cordell Tinch (USA):
Tinch won the World Championship and Diamond League after dominating the 110-meter hurdles in the absence of Grant Holloway. Of the six fastest times of 2025, he ran four of them, including a world-record 12.87.
Emmanuel Wanyonyi (Kenya):
Wanyonyi won the 800-meter World and Diamond League titles at the young age of 21. This year, he set four of the top six times, including a world record of 1:41.44, which was just 0.50 seconds short of David Rudisha’s mark.
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