Rabat – World Athletics announced its finalists for the Athlete of the Year awards on December 4, spotlighting standout Olympic champions and record-breakers. However, Moroccan steeplechase star Soufiane El Bakkali, a two-time Olympic and world champion in the 3000-meter steeplechase, is a surprising omission from the list of track finalists.
American Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles is also missing from the list.
El Bakkali’s absence from the finalist list is bound to raise eyebrows in the track and field community as he has consistently demonstrated dominance in his discipline, making his exclusion from the finalists surprising to many.
Soufiane El Bakkali has firmly established himself as one of the world’s top distance runners, particularly in the highly specialized 3000m steeplechase, where he remains nearly unbeatable.
His gold-medal finish at the Paris 2024 Olympics, clocking in a time of 8:06.05, was a commanding performance that reflects his dominance in the event and solidified his status as a global champion.
In the men’s track category, the finalists are Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, Olympic gold medalist in the 200m, and Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who won gold in the 5000m.
On the women’s side, the finalists include Saint Lucian sprinter Julien Alfred, the 100m Olympic champion, and American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who broke her own world record in the 400m hurdles to clinch her second Olympic title.
In the field category, Swedish pole vaulter and world record holder Mondo Duplantis will compete against Greek long jumper Miltiadis Tentoglou, who captured the Olympic gold in Paris.
For the women, Ukrainian high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who recently set a world record by clearing 2.10 meters, faces Belgium’s Nafissatou Thiam, a three-time Olympic heptathlon champion.
The “out of stadium” finalists include Kenyan marathon world record holder Ruth Chepngetich and Dutch marathon Olympic champion Sifan Hassan for the women, while Ecuador’s 20km walk Olympic champion Brian Pintado will contend with Ethiopia’s marathon gold medalist Tamirat Tola.
Winners will be announced and honored at a Monaco ceremony on December 1.
