Morocco's Soufiane El Bakkali, a runner who specializes in the 3000-meter steeplechase, and Kelvin Kiptum, a Kenyan athlete who holds the world marathon record, have both been nominated for the Men's World Athlete of the Year award.
They are the only two male African athletes included among the 11 nominees. World Athletics revealed the list of standout track and field athletes on Thursday, thereby initiating the voting phase.
According to the organization, the nominees showed impressive performances during various events worldwide including the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, one-day meeting circuits, Label road races, and other global competitions.
Both Kiptum and El Bakkali are contenders for the award, one of the most esteemed accolades in athletics, based on their outstanding results and performances.
On August 22, El Bakkali secured his second gold medal in the World Championship after finishing first in the final race with a time of 8:03.53 in the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
Kenyan athlete Kelvin Kiptum won the London Marathon in April, setting the second-fastest time on the course. On October 8, Kiptum set a world record of 2:00:35 in the Chicago Marathon, becoming the first person in human history to run the 26.2-mile (42.2 km) distance in under 2 hours and 1 minute.
The previous world record was set at the Berlin Marathon held on September 25, 2022. Eliud Kipchoge, a two-time Olympic champion from Kenya, completed the distance in 2:01:09. The long-distance runner Kipchoge won the World Athlete of the Year award twice in 2018 and 2019.
Among the 11 male nominees for this year's prestigious award are also Noah Lyles, an American superstar sprinter, Mondo Duplantis, a Swedish-American world record holder in pole vaulting, and Neeraj Chopra, an Indian athlete specializing in javelin throwing.