Neeraj Chopra has been named among the five finalists for the 2023 World Athlete of the Year award in the men's category. He was initially part of the group of 11 athletes vying for this prestigious year-end recognition from the global governing body of track and field events.
Crowned with the historic World Championships gold medal and the Asian Games gold medal, Neeraj continued his reign supreme in the world of javelin throw. The Tokyo Olympics gold medalist further cemented his dominance by clinching second place in the Diamond League final, despite participating in only two Diamond League meetings in Doha and Lausanne.
Neeraj will face stiff competition for the year-end honour as he goes head-to-head with an impressive lineup of athletic stars, including 100m and 200m world champion Noah Lyles, pole vault sensation Mondo Duplantis, reigning shot put champion Ryan Crouser, and Kenyan marathon legend Kelvin Kiptum.
Neeraj Chopra, IND, javelin
· World champion
· Asian Games champion
Ryan Crouser, USA, shot put
· World champion
· World record
Mondo Duplantis, SWE, pole vault
· World champion
· Diamond League champion with world record
Kelvin Kiptum, KEN, marathon
· London and Chicago Marathon winner
· Marathon world record breaker
Noah Lyles, USA, 100m/200m
· World 100m and 200m champion
· World leader and undefeated in six finals at 200m
The shortlist of five athletes for the World Athlete of the Year award was finalised through a three-step voting process, which included the World Athletics Council, the World Athletics Family, and fan participation. From the initial list of 11 men nominated for the award, individuals such as Soufiane El Bakkali, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Pierce LePage, Alvaro Martin, Miltiadis Tentoglou, and Karsten Warholm did not make it to the final round.
The voting process involved email votes from the World Athletics Council and Family, along with online voting from fans on World Athletics social media platforms, where a record two million votes were recorded. The voting concluded on October 20, and the winners for both the men and women's World Athlete of the Year will be revealed on December 11.
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