At the World Athletics Awards held in Monaco, Letsile Tebogo was named Male Athlete of the Year, while Sifan Hassan received the Female Athlete of the Year award.
Tebogo, who set an African record of 19.46 seconds in the 200-meter race in Paris, also won the Male Track Athlete of the Year award. Additionally, he became Botswana’s first Olympic champion. Tebogo further contributed by winning a silver medal in the 4x400m relay, setting another African record in the process.
Speaking after receiving the award, Tebogo said, “It feels amazing to know that the fans are always there for us athletes. It was a great year. This means a lot.”
Hassan, after winning bronze in the 5,000m and 10,000m in Paris, claimed gold in the women’s marathon. This made her the first athlete in history to win medals in all three events at the same Olympic Games.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone broke her own record and won gold in the 400m hurdles at the Paris Olympics, earning her the Female Track Athlete of the Year award.
Mondo Duplantis won gold in pole vaulting and broke his own world record, which led him to be named Male Field Athlete of the Year.
Yaroslava Mahuchikh, the gold medalist in high jump, was awarded the Female Field Athlete of the Year.