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Doha, Qatar: Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage has been nominated for the 2026 Men’s World Athlete of the Year award alongside Brazil’s unbeaten 400m hurdles star Alison dos Santos and Sweden’s record-breaking pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis, three of the standout performers in a remarkable season for athletics.
The 20 nominees, 10 men and 10 women, were announced by World Athletics ahead of the World Athletics Awards in Monaco on November 29.
Pathirage enjoyed a sensational season, winning the javelin titles at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship, Diamond League, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.
He also set a world-leading national record of 92.62m and won 13 of his 14 competitions.
Dos Santos was unbeaten throughout the season, winning all 11 of his 400m hurdles races, including the Diamond League Final.
He also set a world record of 45.80 seconds before winning the Ultimate Championship title in 45.98.
Duplantis added another chapter to his remarkable career by raising his own pole vault world record to 6.31m. The Swede also won the Ultimate Championship, world indoor and European titles.
The men’s shortlist also features Kenneth Bednarek of the USA, Slovenia’s Kristjan Ceh, Italy’s Andy Díaz Hernández, Botswana’s Collen Kebinatshipi, Britain’s Josh Kerr, Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe and American hurdler Ja’Kobe Tharp.
The women’s nominees are Tigst Assefa, Chase Jackson, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Agnes Ngetich, Marileidy Paulino, María Pérez, Camryn Rogers, Masai Russell, Audrey Werro and Yan Ziyi.
An eight-member panel of statisticians, comprising two World Athletics representatives and one from each of the six area associations, selected the nominees.
A four-way vote will now determine the final ranking from first to 10th, with voting closing on October 17 at midnight CEST.
The winners will be announced at the World Athletics Awards in Monaco on November 29.
