Agnes Ng'etich, and Peres Jepchirchir/ HANDOUTThe Kenyan trio of Berlin Marathon champion Sebastian Sawe, world 10km road race record holder Agnes Ng’etich and world marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir are set to end their season on a high with global recognition after being nominated in the World Athletics Out of Stadium Award category.
This marks the third and final category of the 2025 World Athletics Awards, following the announcement of nominees in the track and field divisions. Sawe, Ng’etich and Jepchirchir join fellow Kenyan stars Faith Kipyegon, Beatrice Chebet and Emmanuel Wanyonyi, who were earlier shortlisted in the Track Athlete of the Year category.
“The nominees reflect some of the standout performances achieved during another memorable year of the sport, which peaked with the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25,” World Athletics said in a statement.
In the men’s out of stadium category, Sawe faces stiff competition from Brazil’s Caio Bonfim, the world 20km race walk champion and 35km silver medallist. Also in the running are Canada’s Evan Dunfee, the world 35km race walk champion, Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, the world 10,000m silver medallist, and Tanzania’s Alphonce Simbu, the world marathon champion.
Sawe has been in red-hot form throughout his 2025 campaign, remaining unbeaten in both marathons he has contested this year. On 27 April, he made a spectacular debut at the London Marathon, clocking 2:02:27 to triumph over Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo (2:03:37) and Kenya’s Alexander Munyao (2:04:20).
Pere Jepchirchir/HANDOUTHis most recent outing came in Berlin on 21 September, where he stormed to victory in 2:02:16, ahead of Japan’s Akira Akasaki (2:06:15) and Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele (2:06:57).
In the women’s category, Jepchirchir and Ng’etich will battle Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa, the world marathon silver medallist, the Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan, the Sydney Marathon champion, and Spain’s Maria Perez, the double world champion in the 20km and 35km race walks.
Ng’etich has been unstoppable on the roads this season. She opened her 2025 campaign with a dominant win at the Sirikwa Classic Cross Country, clocking 32:42, before smashing the women’s-only 10km world record at the Adidas Adizero Road to Records on April 26 with a blistering 29:27.
Her most recent performance came last weekend at the Valencia Half Marathon, where she crossed the finish line in 1:03:08 to clinch another commanding victory.
Sabastian Sawe/FILEMeanwhile, Jepchirchir’s highlight of the season was her golden run at the Tokyo World Championships, where she struck marathon gold in 2:24:43, narrowly edging Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa (2:24:45) and Uruguay’s Julia Paternain (2:27:23).
World Athletics confirmed that voting is already open across its social media platforms, with the winners set to be revealed next month.
“Votes to determine the Out of Stadium Athlete of the Year finalists are now open on World Athletics’ social media platforms—Facebook, Instagram, and X,” the body announced.
“Voting closes on November 2 and the winners will be unveiled at the World Athletics Awards on November 30,” the statement added.
“The overall women’s and men’s World Athlete of the Year award winners will be chosen from among the track, field, and out-of-stadium category champions."
