Last year, it was the first time the International Athletics Federation deviated from the principle of only appointing one male and one female winner. Then, three winners were appointed in both genders in the categories of running events, technical events, and competitions outside the arena.
This led to criticism of the federation. Not even the athletes were aware of the division when the winners were presented at a gala in Monaco.
"Damn it"
That they didn't tell us anything beforehand, that's what makes one a little damn it. We were misled, said Duplantis later to Expressen.
The federation chooses to retain the setup this year as well, but now a new vote will take place. There, athletics fans around the world can vote to appoint the best male and female athlete of 2024 – regardless of event.
Armand Duplantis and the Greek long jumper Miltiadis Tentoglou, who took Olympic gold, are the two male finalists in the technical events category. Duplantis has taken Olympic gold outdoors in Paris, World Championship gold indoors, and broken his own world record three times, which currently stands at 6.26 meters.
Won three times
He won the prize for technical events last year – the 24-year-old has also twice been crowned the world's best male athlete (2020 and 2022). Duplantis has also won European Championship gold outdoors and was named Europe's best male athlete 2024 at the end of October.
The next phase of the vote takes place during the period 4–10 November. All winners will be presented on 1 December in Monaco.
Corrected: An earlier version contained errors regarding the appointment of an overall winner. Correct is that a male and a female winner will be appointed, regardless of event.
On 1 December, the winner of the prize for the world's best athlete in six different categories, three for each gender, will be presented. Additionally, athletics fans around the world can vote for the world's best male and female athlete, regardless of event.
Here are the finalists in each category:
Men, running events
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) – Olympic gold 5,000 meters
Letsile Tebogo (Botswana) – Olympic gold 200 meters
Men, technical events
Armand Duplantis (Sweden) – Olympic gold pole vault
Miltiadis Tentoglou (Greece) – Olympic gold long jump
Men, competitions outside the arena
Brian Pintado (Ecuador) – Olympic gold 20 km walk
Tamirat Tola (Ethiopia) – Olympic gold marathon
Women, running events
Julien Alfred (Saint Lucia) – Olympic gold 100 meters
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) – Olympic gold 400 meters hurdles
Women, technical events
Jaroslava Mahutjich (Ukraine) – Olympic gold high jump
Nafissatou Thiam (Belgium) – Olympic gold heptathlon
Women, competitions outside the arena
Ruth Chepngetich (Kenya) – world record holder marathon
Sifan Hassan (Netherlands) – Olympic gold marathon
