World 1,500m champion Faith Kipyegon is among the five finalists for Women’s World Athlete of the Year honours announced by the governing body as the countdown to this year's awards continues.
Kipyegon, a two-time 1,500m Olympic champion, broke the world record in 5,000m in France in June after clocking 14:05.20.
In the same month, she set a world 1500m record of 3:49.11 to become the first woman in history to break the 3:50 barrier in the discipline.
Also in the mix is Ethiopia's marathoner Tigist Assefa. She set a female world record in the Berlin marathon in September with a landmark time of two hours 11 minutes and 53 seconds, chopping 2:11 minutes from Kenya's Brigid Kosgei's standard of 2:14:04 which had been set at the 2019 Chicago marathon.
Dutch woman Femke Bol is a world 400m champion and holds the world indoor 400m record.
Jamaica's Sharicka Jackson is the world 200m champion and 100m silver medallist. She also bagged gold in the Diamond League 100m and 200m races.
Yulimar Rojas, Venezuela, is the world champion in triple jump.
The five athletes, who represent five countries from four area associations, have achieved sensational performances across a range of athletics disciplines in 2023, winning titles and breaking world records at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23, one-day meeting circuits, Label road races and other events around the world.
Voting procedure for 2023 World Athletes of the Year
A three-way voting process determined the finalists.
The World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family cast their votes by email, while fans logged their decisions online via the World Athletics social media platforms where a record 2 million votes were registered.
Voting closed on 28 October.
The winners will be announced on World Athletics’ platforms on 11 December, as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023.
