After a thrilling year that brought world records, double golds, and redemption arcs, World Athletics has revealed its shortlist of nominees for Track Athlete of the Year, and the choices reflect just how wild 2025 has been.
From Eugene to Tokyo, athletes delivered on the biggest stages. Now, the spotlight turns to ten individuals, five women and five men, whose brilliance defined the track in 2025.
Here’s who’s up for the honor, and why each deserves their place.
Women’s Track Athlete of the Year Nominees
Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (USA)
100m, 200m, 4x100m world champion | Undefeated in 100m | 10.61 world lead
If 2022 was a breakthrough and 2024 a reset, then 2025 was Melissa Jefferson-Wooden’s coronation.
The 23-year-old American sprinter became the first woman since Florence Griffith-Joyner to sweep the 100m and 200m at a global championship, and she didn’t stop there. Jefferson-Wooden also anchored the U.S. 4x100m team to gold in Tokyo, completing a rare sprint triple.
More than the medals, it was her consistency that stood out. She went undefeated in the 100m all year and clocked the five fastest times in the world, culminating in a 10.61 world lead, just two hundredths off her personal best.
What made her dominance even more impressive? She made it look easy. Smooth block starts, clean transitions, and top-end speed that no one else could match.
“Melissa’s rounds were so consistent,” noted coach Dennis Mitchell. “Same cues, same execution. She just doesn’t blink under pressure.”
At a time when women’s sprinting is deeper than ever, Jefferson-Wooden didn’t just rise to the top, she stayed there.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA)
World 400m and 4x400m champion | 47.78 — 2nd-fastest ever | Undefeated in 400m and 400m hurdles
Every year we ask: how much better can she get? And every year, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone answers with something previously unthinkable.
In 2025, the reigning Olympic 400m hurdles champ made the bold call to shift her focus to the flat 400m — and promptly became the second-fastest woman of all time.
Her 47.78 in the Tokyo final was a masterpiece in composure and controlled destruction, as she pulled away from a world-class field with what felt like effortless grace. She followed it up by anchoring the U.S. 4x400m team to gold.
Even more remarkable? She remained undefeated not only in the 400m, but also in the 400m hurdles, which she still dabbled in during the early part of the season.
“Sydney just doesn’t have bad days,” said relay teammate Britton Wilson. “When she steps on the line, you know something special is coming.”
We keep redefining her ceiling. And she keeps redefining the event.
Femke Bol (Netherlands)
World and Diamond League 400m hurdles champion | Undefeated | Top three times of the year
Some athletes explode. Others ascend. In 2025, Femke Bol did both.
The Dutch superstar completed an undefeated season in the 400m hurdles, retained her world title, and won the Diamond League crown, all while remaining coolly dominant throughout.
Her season-best 51.54 in the World Championships final wasn’t just fast, it was surgical. Bol kept her stride pattern smooth, her posture tall, and her rhythm unshakable, even as conditions and competition changed.
The scary part? She seems far from done. Bol recently announced plans to step up to the 800m next season, a move that echoes McLaughlin-Levrone’s ambition and opens new doors in a post-Mu middle-distance scene.
In a discipline historically ruled by Americans, Bol has carved out her own legacy — and she’s still only 25.
Faith Kipyegon (Kenya)
1500m world champion | 5000m silver | 1500m world record (3:48.68)
No one on this list has had a more sustained reign than Faith Kipyegon.
In July, the Kenyan icon lowered her own 1500m world record to 3:48.68 at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene — a performance that reminded everyone she’s not just the best of her era, but perhaps the best miler of all time.
She followed that up with a fourth world title in the 1500m in Tokyo and silver in the 5000m, losing only to her countrywoman Chebet.
What sets Kipyegon apart isn’t just her times, it’s her timing. The ability to surge, cover, and control a race without panic. Her tactics are nearly flawless, her stride almost meditative. And at 31, she’s showing zero signs of slowing down.
Beatrice Chebet (Kenya)
World 5000m and 10,000m champion | 5000m world record
If 2024 was her Olympic coming-out party, then 2025 confirmed Beatrice Chebet’s status as long-distance royalty.
Chebet did the distance double at the World Championships, winning the 5000m and 10,000m against the deepest fields on the track. Her closing speed, honed from her cross-country roots, remains unmatched, and her race IQ is sky-high.
Earlier in the season, she broke the 5000m world record at the Prefontaine Classic, blazing to 14:00.21 and putting her name in the record books for good.
In a head-to-head with Kipyegon, she came out on top in the 5000m final in Tokyo. There’s now a legitimate case to be made that Chebet is the best all-around distance runner in the world — and she’s still only 25.
Men’s Track Athlete of the Year Nominees
Noah Lyles (USA)
World 200m and 4x100m champion | 100m bronze | Undefeated in 200m
If resilience had a face in 2025, it might be Noah Lyles.
Coming off an injury-troubled start to the year, the American sprint star roared back to form just in time for the Tokyo Worlds. He took gold in the 200m with a world-leading 19.51 in the semifinals, helped the U.S. to 4x100m gold, and added a gutsy bronze in the 100m.
He finished the season unbeaten over 200m, including winning the Diamond League title, and reasserted himself as the world’s best curve runner.
“I wanted people to remember that I’m still here,” Lyles said in Tokyo. “And I think they did.”
He’s not just still here. He’s still the man to beat.
Emmanuel Wanyonyi (Kenya)
World and Diamond League 800m champion | 1:41.44 world lead
For those who’ve been waiting for the next great half-miler, Emmanuel Wanyonyi is your guy.
The 21-year-old Kenyan was the class of the 800m all season, winning his first world title, locking down the Diamond League crown, and running a near-record 1:41.44 — just half a second off David Rudisha’s legendary mark.
What’s so stunning about Wanyonyi isn’t just his speed. It’s his control. He ran his first lap in the Tokyo final in 49.26, and still had enough in the tank to close like a freight train.
With another full off-season of training and refinement, the world record may not be safe for much longer.
Rai Benjamin (USA)
World 400m hurdles champion | Second- and third-fastest times of the year
This one meant more.
After multiple runner-up finishes to Karsten Warholm, Rai Benjamin finally got his moment, winning gold in the 400m hurdles after a near-disqualification turned dramatic reinstatement.
He clocked 46.52 in the final, the second-fastest time of 2025, and reminded everyone why he’s long been one of the most consistent performers in the sport.
Benjamin also ran on the U.S. relays and showed again why he’s one of the most versatile 400m men in the world. For an athlete who’s played second fiddle for so long, 2025 was validation.
Cordell Tinch (USA)
World and Diamond League 110m hurdles champion | 12.87 world lead
It was a quiet year for Grant Holloway, and Cordell Tinch filled the void with authority.
The U.S. hurdler won gold in Tokyo, locked down the Diamond League trophy, and ran a world-leading 12.87, one of the fastest times in history. He also delivered four of the top six performances of the year, showing elite consistency across rounds and conditions.
The hurdles are unforgiving. One bad step and it’s over. But Tinch’s precision and poise were a class apart in 2025 — and the title was well-earned.
Jimmy Gressier (France)
10,000m world champion | 5000m bronze | Diamond League 3000m champion
If there was one name on this list few predicted, it’s Jimmy Gressier.
But the French distance runner shocked the field in Tokyo, taking gold in the 10,000m, grabbing bronze in the 5000m, and winning the Diamond League 3000m crown. Not bad for a guy whose season started with a DNS at the European Cross Country Champs.
Gressier’s style isn’t flashy, but it’s effective: sit, surge, repeat. He’s versatile, gritty, and a tactician who made every race count.
In a year dominated by East Africans, Gressier offered a throwback reminder that the right move at the right time still wins races.
How to Vote
Voting for Track Athlete of the Year is open until October 19 on World Athletics’ Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter). Every “like” on Instagram or Facebook, and every retweet on X, counts as a vote.
The final decision breaks down like this:
- 50% World Athletics Council
- 25% World Athletics Family
- 25% Fan social media votes
The top two men and women will advance as finalists, with a second fan vote (via World Athletics+) beginning November 3 to determine the overall World Athletes of the Year.
What’s Next
- October 19: Track vote closes
- October 20–26: Field vote
- October 27–November 2: Out-of-Stadium vote
- November 3: Finalists announced, fan vote opens
- November 9: Final fan vote closes
What makes this award compelling isn’t just who wins. It’s the reminder of how much ground track and field has covered in a single season.
These nominees didn’t just win races, they set standards. They made us rethink what’s possible. Whether you’re voting for Jefferson-Wooden’s sprint sweep, Wanyonyi’s next-gen 800m assault, or Sydney’s smooth supremacy, you’re casting a vote for excellence in all its forms.
So: who stood out to you? Who owned the moment? Who made you believe?
Let us know. And don’t forget to vote.
