Kosgei, Obiri, Chepkoech shortlisted for IAAF Female Athlete of the Year Award
Women’s marathon record holder Brigid Kosgei, 5,000m world champion, Hellen Obiri, and 3,000m steeplechase world champion and world record holder, Beatrice Chepkoech have been nominated for the 2019 IAAF Female Athlete of the Year Award.
The three Kenyan women are among 11 nominees shortlisted for the prestigious annual award whose winner will be announced on November 23 in Monaco, France.
“The nominations of 11 athletes reflects the remarkable range of exceptional performances that the sport has witnessed this year, at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha, and in the Diamond League and in road and cross country events,” IAAF posted on their website.
? Nominees for Female World Athlete of the Year ?
The nominations of 11 athletes reflects the remarkable range of exceptional performances the sport has witnessed this year.
?: https://t.co/oRmFAzAjUL pic.twitter.com/BFX8olqh2K
— IAAF (@iaaforg) October 15, 2019
The three will join compatriots Eliud Kipchoge and Timothy Cheruiyot who have also made the shortlist for the 2019 IAAF Male Athlete of the Year Award.
All three women are fresh from global achievements, with Obiri and Chepkoech having been crowned world champions at the just concluded 2019 IAAF Athletics World Championships in Doha.
Kosgei on her part on Sunday ran the Chicago Marathon in a time of 2 hours 14 minutes and 40 seconds to smash Paula Radcliffe’s longstanding world record. Kosgei, a winner in Chicago last year, also won the London Marathon in April this year.
But Kosgei, Obiri and Chepkoech will come up against strong competition for the award against Jamaican sprint queen Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce who is a two-time Olympics 100m champion and multiple world champion over the distance.
The other nominees are world heptathlon champion, Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Great Britain), 1,500m world champion Sifan Hassan (The Netherlands) and high jump world champion Mariya Lasitskene of Russia.
The list is completed by Malaika Mihambo (Germany) who is the world champion in long jump, Dalilah Muhammad (USA) world champion in the 4x400m relay, Salwa Eid Naser (Bahrain) world champion in 400m and triple jump world champion Yulimar Rojas (Venezuela).
VOTING PROCESS
A three-way voting process will determine the finalists.
The IAAF Council and the IAAF Family will cast their votes by email, while fans can vote online via the IAAF’s social media platforms.
Individual graphics for each nominee will be posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram this week; a ‘like’ on Facebook and Instagram or a retweet on Twitter will count as one vote.
The IAAF Council’s vote will count for 50% of the result, while the IAAF Family’s votes and the public votes will each count for 25% of the final result.
Voting for the nominees will close on November 4, and thereafter five men and five women finalists will be announced by the IAAF.
The male and female World Athletes of the Year will be announced live on stage at the World Athletics Awards 2019.