Dos Santos, Duplantis, Sawe Named Men’s World Athlete Of The Year Finalists
Botswana's Collen Kebinatshipi finishes seventh in the voting
Brazil’s Alison dos Santos, Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis and Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe have been named the three finalists for the 2026 Men’s World Athlete of the Year award by World Athletics.
The trio emerged from a list of 10 nominees following a four-way voting process involving fans, athletes, members of the media and the World Athletics Family.
The winner will be announced at the World Athletics Awards ceremony in Monaco on November 29, with the three finalists invited to attend the event.
Dos Santos earned his place after setting a world 400m hurdles record of 45.80 seconds and winning the Ultimate Championship title in 45.98, the third-fastest time in history. The Brazilian also completed an unbeaten season across 11 hurdles races, including victory at the Diamond League Final.
Duplantis, meanwhile, strengthened his position as the world’s leading pole vaulter by improving his own world record to 6.31m. The Swedish star also won the Ultimate Championship, World Indoor and European titles.
Sawe made history in the marathon, winning the London Marathon in a world-record time of 1:59:30 to become the first man to break the two-hour barrier in a record-eligible race.
Great Britain’s Josh Kerr finished fourth in the voting, ahead of American Ja’Kobe Tharp in fifth and compatriot Kenneth Bednarek in sixth.
Botswana’s Collen Kebinatshipi was seventh, while Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage finished eighth. Italy’s Andy Díaz Hernández and Slovenia’s Kristjan Čeh completed the top 10.
The three finalists were selected from the original nominees by an international panel of athletics experts before the voting process determined the final shortlist.
