Will Kipchoge bag prestigious crown?

World marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge has made it to the final list of the final five-man list for the male World Athlete of the Year Award where the winner will be announced early next month.

The final list released by World Athletics will see decorated long-distance runner battle it out alongside World and Olympic 3000m steeplechase champion Soufiane El Bakkali, World pole vault champion and record holder Mondo Duplantis, World 200m champion Noah Lyles and the World 5000m champion Jakob Ingebrigsten.

Kipchoge stands out as the clear favourite after a stunning season where he enjoyed yet another illustrious year, capping off with a superb 2:01:09 world record set at the Berlin Marathon in September this year.

Before the Berlin race, Kipchoge had clocked 2:02:40 during the Tokyo Marathon where he made his intentions known after being crowned one of the best marathoners to ever grace the sport.

Kipchoge has previously won the 2018 and 2019 awards but also made the final list for the 2020 and 2021 awards.

With Kipchoge enjoying a stellar season lady luck could possibly knock at his door again to become the only third athlete in history to win the award three times.

Others who have won it multiple times include legendary Moroccan athlete Hicham El Gourouj who scooped the award three times and Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt who has scooped a stunning six times.

Greatest marathoner

Kipchoge who has been regarded as the greatest marathoner is currently tied with Ethiopian long-distance runner Kenenisa Bekele and the American duo of Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson who have each won it twice.

Back in 2018, Kipchoge won the award after he set the World record at the Berlin Marathon, and in 2019, he won it after becoming the first man to run the marathon in under two hours.

Kipchoge’s nomination to the final list of five comes in the wake of Kenya’s 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon missing out on the list of nominees for the women’s category of global awards.

Kipyegon who was among the 10 nominees on the initial list released last month, missed out on the final five list released yesterday.

She had a sensational season that saw her reclaim the World title in Oregon before clinching a third Diamond League trophy.

The 28-year-old also missed the 1500m world record with seconds when she ran 3:50.37 at the Monaco Diamond League.

It was the second-fastest time in the history of the women’s 1,500m race with Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba holding the world record of 3:50.07 set in Monaco in 2015.

Jamaican 100m, and 200m sensation Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce now headlines the final list.

with Nigerian Tobi Amusan also included in the final list as the countdown to the global awards 2022 continues.

Shelly-Ann-Pryce was crowned the world 100m champion after claiming a fifth gold medal in the Eugene race in July.

She is also the Diamond League 100m champion and ran a world-leading 10.62 among her record, seven sub-10.70 100m races of the season.

The announcement opened the way for the voting process to get underway for the athletics fraternity.