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Ugandan long-distance runner Joshua Cheptegei will hope to win the Male Athlete of the Year Award by World Athletics after making the shortlist for a third year running.
Cheptegei will vie for the top prize at the ceremony set to be held virtually on December 1 alongside four others following a vote by fans and, the World Athletics Council and Family.
The 25-year-old will vie for the award against shot-put world record holder American Ryan Crouser, Swede pole vaulter Armand Duplantis, Kenyan marathon great Eliud Kipchoge and 400m hurdler Norwegian Karsten Warholm.
Cheptegei made the shortlist after winning 10000m silver behind Ethiopian Selemon Barega and later the 5000m gold at the Tokyo Olympics in Japan.
In 2020, he lost the award to Duplantis and in 2019, Cheptegei was beaten by Kipchoge. Now, the man who became the first Ugandan to win more than a medal at an Olympics edition, hopes to be lucky this time.
His rivals all won Olympic medals with Crouser adding a Diamond League (DL) trophy as well as both indoor and outdoor shot-put world records.
At the Olympics, Kipchoge became the only third man to defend the marathon title, and he won it with the biggest margin since 1972.
Meanwhile, Duplantis scooped all pole vault titles at the DL, Olympics and the European indoor championships.
Similarly, Warholm was electric, powering to the DL and Olympics top prizes and he spiced it up with the world 300m hurdles best and a 400m hurdles WR, this in front of his home crowd at the Oslo DL Meeting on July 1.
Voting for the award closed on November 6.
WORLD ATHLETICS AWARDS
MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARD
FINALISTS: Joshua Cheptegei (UGA), Ryan Crouser (USA), Mondo Duplantis (SWE), Karsten Warholm (NOR), Eliud Kipchoge (KEN)
WORLD ATHLETICS AWARDS
CAST OF WINNERS - MEN’S AWARD
2009: Usain Bolt (JAM)
2010: David Rudisha (KEN)
2011: Usain Bolt (JAM)
2012: Usain Bolt (JAM)
2013: Usain Bolt (JAM)
2014: Renaud Lavillenie (FRA)
2015: Ashton Eaton (USA)
2016: Usain Bolt (JAM)
2017: Mutaz Essa Barshim (QAT)
2018: Eliud Kipchoge (KEN)
2019: Eliud Kipchoge (KEN)
2020: Mondo Duplantis (SWE)
CHEPTEGEI PROFILE
Date of birth: September 12, 1996
Major Races: 5000m, 10000m
Personal Bests: 5000m (12:35.36), 10000m (26:11.00)
Coach: Addy Ruiter
Manager: Jurrie van der Velden
CHEPTEGEI’S PERSONAL BESTS
TRACK
1500m: 3:37.82 (Nijmegen 2016)
3000m: 7:33.24 (Ostrava 2021)
2-mile: 8:07.54 NR (Stanford 2019)
5000m: 12:35.36 WR (Monaco 2020)
10000m: 26:11.00 WR (Valencia 2020)
ROAD
5km: 12:51 WR (Monaco 2020)
10km: 26:38 NR (Valencia 2019)
15km: 41:05 WR (Nijmegen 2018)
Denotes: NR - National Record, WR - World Record, WB - World Best, Personal Best - PB
LAST 15 RACES FOR CHEPTEGEI
2021
Feb 14: 1st Monaco Run
Apr 24: 3rd 1500m UAF Trials
May 19: 1st 3000m Ostrava Golden Spike
Jun 10: 6th 5000m Rome DL Meeting
Jul 31: 2nd 10000m Tokyo Olympics
Aug 3: 5th 5000m Heat 2 Tokyo Olympics
Aug 6: 1st 5000m Final Tokyo Olympics
Aug 21: 1st 2-Mile Eugene DL
2020
Feb 16: 5K World Record
Aug 14: 5000m World Record
Oct 7: 10000m World Record
Oct 17: 4th World Half-Marathon Champs
2019
Dec 1: 10K World Record
Oct 6: World 10000m Gold
Aug 29: 5000m Diamond League Trophy
This writer is a global broadcaster and as well, a scribe with Daily Monitor Newspaper and sports presenter with Radio One FM 90 in Kampala. Follow him on Twitter: @AllanDarren and his Facebook Page: Darren Allan Kyeyune