Jefferson-Wooden, Russell, Duplantis, Dos Santos, Kebinatshipi Head World Athlete Of The Year Nominees

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Masai Russell, Mondo Duplantis, Alison dos Santos and Collen Kebinatshipi headline the 20 nominees for the 2026 World Athletics World Athlete of the Year awards.

The five are among a stellar field of 10 women and 10 men shortlisted for the prestigious honours after outstanding seasons highlighted by world records, global titles, Diamond League success and historic performances.

The nominations also carry a Nigerian angle, with Russell making the women’s shortlist after breaking Tobi Amusan’s world 100m hurdles record.

Russell clocked 12.09 in Zurich in August, taking 0.03 off the 12.12 world record Amusan set at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene. Amusan finished second in the race in a season’s best 12.23.

Amusan remains the only Nigerian to have made the World Athlete of the Year shortlist, having been nominated in 2022 following her world-record-breaking season.

Russell subsequently won the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship title and the Diamond League Final, completing an unbeaten season in the 100m hurdles.

Jefferson-Wooden also enjoyed a spectacular season. The American won the 100m and 200m sprint double at the Ultimate Championship and produced a world-leading 21.47 in the 200m, a performance that moved her to third on the world all-time list.

Her 2026 season has also seen her establish herself as the world No.1 in both the 100m and 200m, with five world championship titles and two Ultimate Championship titles now listed on her World Athletics profile.

Duplantis once again pushed the boundaries of the pole vault, raising his own world record to 6.31m. The Swedish superstar also won the Ultimate Championship, world indoor and European titles, adding another remarkable chapter to his record-breaking career.

The Brazilian dos Santos produced perhaps one of the most spectacular individual performances of the season when he smashed the men’s 400m hurdles world record in Zurich.

His 45.80 run took 0.14 off Karsten Warholm’s previous record and was followed less than 40 minutes later by Russell’s world record. Dos Santos went on to win the Ultimate Championship title in 45.98 and completed an unbeaten season in 11 hurdles races.

Botswana’s Kebinatshipi has also established himself as one of the dominant figures in the one-lap event.

The world champion won the Ultimate 400m title in a national record 43.39, moving to fifth on the world all-time list. He also won the Diamond League title and improved the Diamond League record three times during the season.

His 43.39 in Budapest extended his record to six sub-44-second races in a single season. He had earlier run 43.40 at the Diamond League Final in Brussels.

Women’s Nominees

Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa is nominated after winning the Berlin Marathon in 2:11:04, the third-fastest time in history, before claiming the London Marathon in a women-only world record of 2:15:41.

USA shot putter Chase Jackson twice improved the North American record, first to 21.02m and then to 21.14m. She also won the world indoor title and regained the Diamond League Trophy.

Kenya’s Agnes Ngetich enjoyed a remarkable year across distances. She won the world half marathon title by 50 seconds in a women-only world record of 1:05:15 and followed it with a 42-second victory at the world cross-country championships. She also produced world-leading performances of 8:08.95 for 3000m and 28:58 for 10km.

Dominican Republic star Marileidy Paulino won the Ultimate 400m title and regained her Diamond League crown. She set a world-leading and Diamond League record of 48.48 and remained unbeaten, breaking 49 seconds in eight races.

Spain’s María Pérez set an inaugural world half marathon race walk record of 1:30:06 and won the European title by 58 seconds with the same performance.

Canada’s Camryn Rogers strengthened her position among the world’s greatest hammer throwers by improving her North American record to 81.13m. She produced the five best performances in the world during the season and retained her Commonwealth Games title.

Switzerland’s Audrey Werro won the Ultimate, Diamond League and European 800m titles. She also broke the Diamond League record three times, eventually improving to a world-leading 1:53.70, which moved her to third on the world all-time list.

China’s Yan Ziyi produced one of the season’s biggest breakthroughs in the javelin. She threw 71.74m in her season opener, an Asian and world U20 record that placed her second on the world all-time list. She also won the Diamond League and Asian Games titles.

Men’s Nominees

USA’s Kenneth Bednarek completed a sprint double at the Ultimate Championship, winning the 100m in 9.85 and the 200m in a world-leading personal best of 19.52. He also won the Diamond League 200m title in 19.62.

Slovenia’s Kristjan Čeh won the Diamond League discus title with a meeting record of 71.29m and retained his European title with a championship record of 72.51m.

Italy’s Andy Díaz Hernández won world indoor, Diamond League and European triple jump titles and jumped 18.15m to move to fourth on the world all-time list.

Dos Santos, the 2022 world champion, is joined on the list by fellow one-lap star Kebinatshipi, while Great Britain’s Josh Kerr earned his nomination after setting a world mile record of 3:42.66.

Kerr also produced a world-leading 3:27.62 for his 1500m split and won the Ultimate 1500m, world indoor 3000m and Commonwealth Games mile titles.

Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage enjoyed a breakthrough season in the javelin, winning the Ultimate, Diamond League, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games titles. He also set a world-leading national record of 92.62m and won 13 of his 14 competitions.

Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe produced history in the marathon by winning the London Marathon in a world record 1:59:30. He became the first man to break the two-hour barrier in a record-eligible marathon.

USA hurdler Ja’Kobe Tharp also made the shortlist after setting a world 110m hurdles record of 12.75 at the NCAA Championships. He went on to win the Ultimate and Diamond League titles and broke 13 seconds six times during the season.

The final ranking of the 10 nominees in each category will be determined through a four-way voting process involving World Athletics fans, athletes, media and the World Athletics Family, with each group contributing 25 per cent.

The six finalists, three women and three men, will be announced on November 10 and 11.

The winners will be crowned at the World Athletics Awards in Monaco on November 29, where the new Moment of the Year award will also be presented alongside the Rising Star, Coach of the Year and President’s Award honours.