Alison dos Santos, Mondo Duplantis and Sabastian Sawe have been confirmed as the three finalists for the 2026 Men’s World Athlete of the Year honour ahead of the World Athletics Awards taking place in Monaco.

Following a four-way vote by fans, athletes, members of the media and the World Athletics Family, the three finalists topped the list of 10 nominees that had been selected by an international panel of athletics experts.

The finalists will now be invited to Monaco for the World Athletics Awards on 29 November, when the winner will be announced live on stage.

Finalists (in alphabetical order):

Alison dos Santos, Brazil
• Set a world 400m hurdles record of 45.80 and won the Ultimate title in 45.98, the third-fastest time in history
• Went undefeated in 11 hurdles races, including the Diamond League Final

Mondo Duplantis, Sweden
• Improved his world pole vault record to 6.31m
• Won Ultimate, world indoor and European titles

Sabastian Sawe, Kenya
• Won the London Marathon in a world record of 1:59:30
• Became the first man to break two hours in a record-eligible marathon

The remaining nominees finished in the following order:

4 Josh Kerr, Great Britain & NI
5 Ja’Kobe Tharp, USA
6 Kenneth Bednarek, USA
7 Collen Kebinatshipi, Botswana
8 Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, Sri Lanka
9 Andy Díaz Hernández, Italy
10 Kristjan Čeh, Slovenia

As well as the awarding of the men’s and women’s World Athlete of the Year honours, other awards to be presented on stage in Monaco include the men’s and women’s Rising Star honours, Coach of the Year, the President’s Award and, for the first time, the Moment of the Year award.

The finalists for Women’s World Athlete of the Year will be announced on Wednesday (11).

World Athletics