• ATHLETICS

• Sportsbeat Correspondent 4 months ago

Celebrations for Wanyonyi, Serem and Sawe on night that Kenyans will feel their deserving female athletes were robbed

Emmanuel Wanyonyi delivered a historic win on the global stage by being named Male Track Athlete of the Year (Field) at the World Athletics Awards in Monaco.

The Sunday night awards gala also saw two other Kenyans crowned with Edmund Serem picking up the Rising Star of the Year award while Sabastian Sawe was named the Out of the Stadium Athlete of the Year.

It was in the women awards though that questions continue to be raised with USA’s Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone named Athlete of the Year yet Kenya’s double world champion and world record holder Beatrice Chebet did not even make the final.

Many will continue to question the criteria used by the World Athletics to leave out a deserving athlete in Chebet in favour of the American.

For now though it is celebrations for the Kenyan trio that won the awards on Sunday.

20-year-old Wanyonyi who is the world and Olympic 800m champion beat American sprint superstar Noah Lyles to claim the award.

‎‎Wanyonyi’s victory was the highlight of a proud night for Kenya and proved that the country continues to shine far beyond long-distance running.

His strong and consistent performances throughout the 2025 season, especially his world title win in Tokyo last September, made him stand out in the two-lap race where he dominated rivals such as Marco Arop and Djamel Sedjati.

‎‎The award is historic because it is very rare for a middle-distance athlete to defeat a global sprint icon in this category.

‎‎The celebrations in Monaco also doubled for Kenya as 17-year-old Edmund Serem was named Male Rising Star of the Year. Serem impressed the world after winning bronze in the 3,000m steeplechase at the World Championships in Tokyo.

On the hand hand, Sawe was awarded for a good show in 2025 when he was simply unbeaten on the roads.