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Johnson is puzzled by the decision to name six different individuals as World Athletes of the Year for the first time in history.
American sprint legend Michael Johnson has criticised World Athletics’ decision to hand the Athlete of the Year award to six different individuals terming it “a bad idea”.
The organisation made an odd decision to have six different categories, rather than the usual holistic award given to the best athlete of the year in both the male and female categories regardless of specialty.
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23:29 - 11.12.2023
ATHLETICS Faith Kipyegon makes history as Kenyans sweep World Athlete of the Year Awards
Kipyegon fended off stern competition to win the highly coveted award, while fellow Kenyans Faith Cherotich and Emmanuel Wanyonyi have both won the Rising Star of the Year awards.
The adaptation of the World Athlete of the Year honours awarded this year follows feedback received during the voting process.
When it came to compiling the votes, athletes, fans and World Athletics Family members commented that it was incredibly hard to limit the vote to just one athlete, because of the various disciplines and the vast differences in skill sets required.
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16:33 - 12.12.2023
ATHLETICS Double Delight: President Ruto honours Faith Kipyegon with highest Kenyan civilian award
The double Olympic champ and record-breaker has been awarded Kenya's highest honor as President Ruto lauds her and other athletics stars.
As a result, the 2023 World Athlete of the Year awards have been divided into three event categories: track, field, and out of stadia.
This has generated plenty of debate and division of opinions among many track and field runners, and Johnson, a four-time Olympic champion and eight-time world champion, remains puzzled by the decision.
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11:00 - 12.12.2023
ATHLETICS Explained: Why six stars were named World Athletes of the Year
World Athletics names six athletes of the year, breaking tradition to celebrate diversity and recognize excellence across various disciplines.
“Am I the only person who thinks having six athletes of the year is a bad idea? Am I missing something?” Johnson wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The 56-year-old has however admitted that there is some sense behind the decision having seen that the award recognises different categories.
“Just saw it is track, field, and out of stadia categories. So maybe it makes sense.”
Tigist Assefa, Mondo Duplantis, Kelvin Kiptum, Faith Kipyegon, Noah Lyles and Yulimar Rojas were the six individuals announced as World Athletes of the Year for 2023.
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14:00 - 12.12.2023
ATHLETICS Noah Lyles reminisces on World Athlete of the Year triumph for Men's track
Noah Lyles was named World Athlete of the Year for Men's Track in 2023 after his outstanding performance and ambitious goals.
Assefa, Duplantis, Kiptum and Kipyegon set world records in their respective events in 2023, while all six World Athletes of the Year secured world titles or major marathon wins.
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