World Athletics is delighted to announce the three finalists for the 2023 Men&rsquo;s Rising Star Award, which will recognise this year's best U20 athlete at the World Athletics Awards 2023.
The nominations reflect some of the standout performances that the sport has witnessed this year, at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23, World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 23, one-day meeting circuits and other events around the world.
The winner of the 2023 Men&rsquo;s Rising Star Award will be selected by an international panel of experts and be announced on World Athletics&rsquo; platforms on 11 December.
The finalists are:
Roshawn Clarke, JAM - World Championships 400m hurdles fourth place - Equalled and then broke the world U20 record with 47.85 in Kingston and 47.34 in Budapest - Jamaican champion and CARIFTA Games U20 champion
Erriyon Knighton, USA - World Championships 200m silver medallist - US champion - Winner of Diamond League races in Florence and Oslo
Emmanuel Wanyonyi, KEN - World Championships 800m silver medallist - Diamond League champion and winner in Rabat, Paris and Xiamen - World cross country mixed relay champion
Further information about the World Athletics Awards 2023 will be announced in the coming weeks.
World Athletics 
&nbsp;

Roshawn Clarke, Erriyon Knighton and Emmanuel Wanyonyi

Finalists announced for 2023 Men's Rising Star Award 

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was named women&rsquo;s track athlete of the year at the World Athletics Awards 2024 in Monaco after a season in which she twice lowered her own world 400m hurdles record and retained her Olympic title.
At this summer&rsquo;s Paris Games, she also helped the United States make a successful defence of the women&rsquo;s 4x400m title.
McLaughlin-Levrone&rsquo;s first world record of the year came at the US Olympic Trials which she won in 50.65, taking 0.03 off the world record she had set on the same track two years earlier in securing the world title.
In Paris, the day after her 25th birthday, she lowered that mark to 50.37 to add a second Olympic 400m hurdles gold to the one she had won three years earlier in Tokyo.
She followed up by running the second leg for a US 4x400m relay team that won gold in a North American record of 3:15.27, the second-fastest time in history and just 0.10 shy of the long-standing world record.
Speaking on stage with her award at the Theatre Princess Grace, McLaughlin-Levrone commented: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s an honour to come here to have the season that the team have had together be recognised. We are always going to find something we can improve.
&ldquo;It was an amazing year. I&rsquo;m so grateful being able to be healthy coming back after last year. The ultimately glory goes to God. I am so super-honoured to be here.
Asked about her targets for next year, she replied with a smile: &ldquo;I honestly don&rsquo;t really know! Mondo&rsquo;s already training. Maybe I should be!&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6762a4b0312ca00b3d84dce8.jpg" alt="Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at the 2024 World Athletics Awards" />
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at the 2024 World Athletics Awards (&copy; Christel Saneh for World Athletics)
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<h2> McLaughlin-Levrone&rsquo;s 2024 in numbers</h2>
You broke the world 400m hurdles record twice in 2024, taking it from 50.68 to 50.65, and then 50.37. Do you think going below 50 seconds is now a possibility?
&ldquo;That definitely is on my mind for sure. An athlete would naturally want to do that. Whether that happens or not is up to God. I&rsquo;m just going to work for it, I can&rsquo;t put a number on it.
&ldquo;It may be me, or maybe an athlete in five or 10 years from now. So I&rsquo;m just going to continue to try to be the best I can be and if it comes it comes, and if it doesn&rsquo;t, it doesn&rsquo;t.
&ldquo;But I think for me it&rsquo;s just the desire to improve. Every time you go back to the table and look at it, there is always something you can do better. It&rsquo;s exciting in the hurdles, that there is always something you can improve on.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6762ab0bb43c1ec381e7e2b0.jpg" alt="Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wins the 400m hurdles at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games" />
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wins the 400m hurdles at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
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You have now set six consecutive world records in the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles. Do you have a favourite?
&ldquo;I think you can&rsquo;t ever beat the first time,&rdquo; she said, referring to her mark of 51.90 set at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene three years ago, which beat the record of 52.16 compatriot Dalilah Muhammad had set in beating her to the 2019 world title.
&ldquo;It was the first moment of realising that my childhood dreams came true. Going under 52, all that hard work, seeing it come to fruition &ndash; I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ll ever get past it.
&ldquo;Realising that barrier was possible to break. Learning about myself as an athlete. That race, for me, was the stepping stone. We then were able to see that we could push this further and further.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
You ran 47.71 on the second leg as the United States won the Olympic 4x400m title in 3:15.27, the second-fastest time in history. You have also run 48.74 in individual competition, just 0.04 off the US record. How do you see your 400m flat running progressing?
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s always amazing to run with those ladies. We are really together now and we have our own training situations. Representing the USA together and getting that gold in Paris was just a really special moment.
&ldquo;The 400m flat almost hurts a bit more than the hurdles, to be honest. You&rsquo;re going faster and you definitely feel that. But I think the open 400m is very helpful in terms of speed endurance, and it&rsquo;s always very helpful to have those hurdles in your mind when you&rsquo;re running it.
&ldquo;So they&rsquo;re both great, and hopefully I will get some more opportunities next year to do some flat 400s.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6762ab3fb43c1ec381e7e2b6.jpg" alt="The US 4x400m team celebrates their victory at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games" />
The US 4x400m team celebrates their victory at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
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The next summer Olympics in 2028 are due to take place in Los Angeles. Your thoughts?
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s super-exciting to be able to have the Games in LA, where I&rsquo;m training right now. I drive by the Coliseum at times and imagine what it is going to look like during the Olympics. I hope LA is going to be prepared for that moment. I know it will be. It&rsquo;s a really special opportunity to have the Olympics in our back yard.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
Only two women have broken 51 seconds for the 400m hurdles &ndash; you and Femke Bol. How do you rate her as competition and how do you see your rivalry playing out in the next few years?
&ldquo;I think every athlete is focused on themselves, to be honest, because you still have to jump over those 10 hurdles. Obviously Femke is a wonderful competitor and there are so many women in our event that are just getting faster and faster. So you always have to show respect for your opposition because you never know what anyone is going to produce on any given day.
&ldquo;But like I said, it&rsquo;s you against you. And you have to be prepared to be at your highest level when you step on the track, because our event is going to heights I don&rsquo;t think any of us imagined &ndash; which is amazing because we are all just pushing one another to be the best. And I am really happy to be a part of this transition.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
You have said that moments after winning the 400m hurdles world title in 2022, you experienced the worst physical pain of your life. Was the post-race pain better or worse in Paris?
&ldquo;Believe it or not, it actually was better in Paris, although still very painful! But I think my body got used to 50-point and what it felt like going into shock.
&ldquo;In Paris it was a bit better for sure because I knew what to expect. So the second half of the race and what that felt like was a little bit better this time around.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6762ab1eb43c1ec381e7e2b3.jpg" alt="Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in Paris" />
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in Paris (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
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You have achieved enormous success in your career so far. What is the one thing you have found hardest?
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think this will be a shock to the media but I think that for me would be the media and their opinions and stories of you they write. I know it&rsquo;s their job to get an interesting story, but their story may not always reflect the truth.
&ldquo;To any young athlete who is still very impressionable and trying to discover who they are, having the whole world have an opinion about them can be a little overwhelming.
&ldquo;And I think that&rsquo;s something that can be very difficult, especially on the world stage when you see articles that are written about you that are not true, and things that are posted about you that are not true.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very easy to let that get into your mind, into your performance, and I think that&rsquo;s something I tell young athletes all the time that is just something you have to be aware of what you let into your mind and into your circle. Because it can affect you.&rdquo;
Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics

A numerical look back at Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's 2024 season

World track athlete of the year Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s 2024 – in numbers

Mondo Duplantis, named as the men&rsquo;s field athlete of the year at the World Athletics Awards 2024, has further adorned his status as the greatest male pole vaulter with another year of dizzying achievement.
After retaining his world indoor title in Glasgow, the Swedish phenomenon &ndash; who only turned 25 on 10 November &ndash; went on to tick all the boxes as he set three more world records, bringing his total to 10.
The first came at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Xiamen on 20 April, when he cleared 6.24m. Next came the ultimate athletic experience as he retained his Olympic title with a clearance of 6.25m in a packed Stade de France in which he was not only the last man standing in his event, but the last athlete competing on the night.
Twenty days later, at the Silesia Diamond League meeting, he added a further centimetre to his best mark.
Duplantis also retained his European title in Rome thanks to a championship record of 6.10m.
And he also found time to win a personal 100m challenge with Norway&rsquo;s world 400m hurdles champion and world record-holder Karsten Warholm in a race that took place during the Zurich Diamond League meeting. Duplantis clocked 10.37 &ndash; underlining the speed he has on tap to convert into height&hellip;
In a recorded message played at the Theatre Princess Grace when his latest award was announced, Duplantis &ndash; who was training in the United States &ndash; paid tribute to his mother Helena, a former heptathlete and volleyball player, and his father Greg, a former pole vaulter with a best of 5.80m.
&ldquo;This is always special and hard to wrap my head around,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I am very appreciative. There is nothing more important than an Olympic year for us athletes, so I&rsquo;m grateful things worked out the way they did and I performed the way I did.
&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t give enough thanks to my family who are my team &ndash; my mum and dad are my trainer and technical coach. I couldn&rsquo;t be in the situation I&rsquo;m in today without them, fighting for world and Olympic gold medals and doing other things I&rsquo;ve dreamed of since I was a little kid.
&ldquo;Right now I&rsquo;m back here in the United States working for next year.
&ldquo;Thanks so much &ndash; this award truly means so much to me and my family.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/66b12b4d3b4bba6b2abdb529.jpg" alt="Mondo Duplantis at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games" />
Mondo Duplantis at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (&copy; Dan Vernon)
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<h2> Duplantis&rsquo;s 2024 in numbers</h2>
After retaining your Olympic title at the Paris 2024 Games in front of a huge crowd in the Stade de France, you raised your world record by a centimetre when you cleared 6.25m on your third attempt. How did that feel to you?
"It was one of those things that don&rsquo;t really feel real, such an out-of-body experience. I had just broken a world record at the Olympics &ndash; the biggest possible stage for a pole vaulter.
&ldquo;The biggest dream since I was a kid was to break the world record at the Olympics, and I&rsquo;d been able to do that in front of the most ridiculous crowd I&rsquo;ve ever competed in front of."
&nbsp;
You have now set 10 consecutive world pole vault records. Did you feel something of this kind might happen once you had set your first one when you cleared 6.17m in Torun in February 2020, then 6.18m a week later in Glasgow?
&ldquo;It was very important to me to show that the first world record wasn&rsquo;t a fluke. It was like &lsquo;This was what&rsquo;s to come. This is what I am, this is the level I am competing at&rsquo;. I didn&rsquo;t just happen to get over the 6.17m.
&ldquo;I wanted to show that I could do the next one, and do it even easier than the first one.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
Your most recent world record, set in Silesia, was 6.26m. You&rsquo;ll never guess this question. Oh yes you will. How much higher can you go?
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve said numerous times that I want to jump over 6.30m. Because I think that&rsquo;s very possible and it just seems like the next real barrier to get over for pole vaulters in general.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something that can happen when everything just comes together in the right way, but I don&rsquo;t think about it so much, honestly. I think I will just let it come, and it will just come.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/66e1c48c98560f77a695b07d.jpg" alt="Mondo Duplantis in Continental Tour Gold action" />
Mondo Duplantis in Continental Tour Gold action (&copy; Sona Maleterova)
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&nbsp;
You tend to have seven or eight poles in your bag. How does this number work for you?
&ldquo;I am always trying to use stiffer and stronger poles. If I can put more energy into a stiffer pole it is going to fling me up higher. It&rsquo;s going to catapult me up there.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m always trying to improve that aspect and to use different poles. There always seems to be a pole for the year &ndash; one I did my good jumps on.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/66c642126265d4433918343a.jpg" alt="Mondo Duplantis at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Lausanne" />
Mondo Duplantis at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Lausanne (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
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&nbsp;
Reflecting on your 10th and most recent world record, the 6.26m you cleared at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Silesia on 25 August, how close to the perfect jump did it feel?
&ldquo;My first world record also came in Poland, indoors in Torun, so I had great memories from there. The track was wonderful, the conditions were perfect, everything just came together to allow me to do it.
&ldquo;It is just about being in good shape and believing you can do it. I always want to jump as high as I possibly can and to keep pushing. But I have never hit a jump that felt absolutely perfect, so I always feel like I can do better.&rdquo;
Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics

Mondo Duplantis has further adorned his status as the greatest male pole vaulter with another year of dizzying achievement

World field athlete of the year Mondo Duplantis’s 2024 – in numbers

Yaroslava Mahuchikh, named as the women&rsquo;s field athlete of the year at the World Athletics Awards 2024, has delivered gifts of the highest order to her country of Ukraine as it continues to resist invasion by Russia.
On 7 July in Paris the 23-year-old high jumper from Dnipro broke one of the oldest world records as she cleared 2.10m to better the 2.09m set by Bulgaria&rsquo;s Stefka Kostadinova at the 1987 World Championships.
Two months later, Mahuchikh returned to the French capital and added Olympic gold to the bronze she earned in Tokyo three years prior as she took the Paris 2024 title on countback from Australia&rsquo;s Nicola Olyslagers after both had cleared 2.00m.
&ldquo;It is an incredible honour to be here to receive this award,&rdquo; Mahuchikh said after being named world field event athlete of the year. &ldquo;This year has been full of challenges but I had unforgettable moments with the Olympic title and world record.
&ldquo;I want to thank my team for believing in me in through this time. Ukrainians are inspiring. They are so strong. I tried to show in my way that we are strong and that we will never give up.
&ldquo;I always believed I could break the world record. It was my dream to get it, but I didn&rsquo;t expect to get it before the Olympic Games. I wanted to give the celebration to my country and I did it.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/67599ef17d649c7a8611cb07.jpg" alt="Yaroslava Mahuchikh at the World Athletics Awards 2024" />
Yaroslava Mahuchikh at the World Athletics Awards 2024 (&copy; Christel Saneh for World Athletics)
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&nbsp;
<h2>Mahuchikh&rsquo;s 2024 in numbers</h2>
You reached two athletics peaks this year &ndash; Olympic gold and a world record of 2.10m. Can you reflect upon those achievements?
&ldquo;It was a fantastic year for me because my two dreams &ndash; winning the Olympic title and breaking the world record &ndash; came true. And the most important thing for me was that I was able to bring that home to my people. I have just spent two months in Ukraine, back home in Dnipro. It was a fantastic two months, despite the rocket attacks.
&ldquo;Coming into 2024 my personal bests were 2.06m indoors and 2.05m outdoors, so I had a four-centimetre improvement in 2024. In high jumping, every centimetre counts. But I was ready; I was in good shape, ready to jump a personal best. My mentality was strong.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
You added one centimetre to the world record set by Stefka Kostadinova at the 1987 World Championships in Rome when you cleared 2.10m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Paris. How long had you been seriously dreaming of doing this?
&ldquo;The world record was my dream, my goal. I always believed it was possible one day. My manager always said it was possible, everything is possible. But a lot of other people said it was one of the oldest records and the possibility to break it had been exhausted.
&ldquo;Now I have jumped it and proved that women can jump higher than 2.09m &ndash; and I hope higher than 2.10m.
&ldquo;In sport, the mentality is the most important thing that should be good. When you come to the stadium, you should be ready to show the results of your work.
&ldquo;So on the morning of the Paris meeting I was ready, I was in good shape, and I had the feeling that something good should happen &ndash; and it happened.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/668aaf135e7b38f835e73def.JPG" alt="Yaroslava Mahuchikh in the high jump in Paris" />
Yaroslava Mahuchikh in the high jump in Paris (&copy; Christel Saneh for World Athletics)
</div>
&ldquo;I made some mistakes. Then something fantastic happened. First I cleared 2.07m for a Ukrainian record. I was so happy. I felt I should try one attempt at 2.10m and I told my coach Tetyana Stepanova.
&ldquo;I had just recovered from a minor injury and of course the Olympic Games were coming up. But I said I will try one attempt. And she said &lsquo;OK. Let&rsquo;s try. Keep working.&rsquo;
&ldquo;I walked away like, &lsquo;yes, yes I can do it! Yes, I am ready to jump.&rsquo; And then I asked the spectators to clap. And I did it first time! It was an incredible, fantastic feeling.
&ldquo;Sometimes athletes feel their body better. Coaches can see mistakes, but they cannot feel what is in your body.
&ldquo;The realisation only came to me when I was back in Ukraine during the past two months. I was thinking, &lsquo;yes, we made history with my team&rsquo;.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
What is the balance in performance between the mental and physical aspects? Is it 60-40, or 40-60, or 50-50&hellip;?
&ldquo;I think 50-50 &ndash; you can be ready physically 100 per cent but if you are not ready mentally you will not do well. In sport, the mentality is the most important thing that should be good. When you come to the stadium you should be ready to show the results of your work.
&ldquo;I know a lot of people who train and show good results, but when they go to the stadium they see a lot of people, they feel pressure, they cannot run or jump because they are so excited. Mentally you should be really strong and be ready for the results.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
You are 1.82m tall. Is there an ideal height for high jumping &ndash; and is it your height?
&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s best for a high jumper to be about 1.75m to 1.80m. There are girls who are 1.90m but they cannot always jump well because they can&rsquo;t figure out how the body works around the bar. You should feel your way over the bar.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
You cleared a best of 2.00m at the Paris 2024 Olympics &ndash; but that was enough to win on countback. How was that experience for you?
&ldquo;The world record gave me more confidence. It was my second Olympics, so I knew how it worked. I remember I said to myself, &lsquo;I am the world record holder now and I should show the best results.&rsquo;
&ldquo;I did 2.00m and Nicola did the same. But my coach always tells me you should try to clear heights on the first attempt because sometimes it can mean a medal.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t feel much pressure. A lot of people expected gold from me but I tried not to think about that, I tried to enjoy it because it was a celebration of sport. I just wanted to jump and give some emotion to people.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/66afed2840478bb274a4353b.jpg" alt="Yaroslava Mahuchikh in the high jump at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games" />
Yaroslava Mahuchikh in the high jump at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (&copy; Dan Vernon)
</div>
&nbsp;
You made your best ever start to a season this year when you cleared 2.04m indoors in Cottbus on 31 January. Did you sense then that 2024 was going to be special for you?
&ldquo;It was great competition in Cottbus at the start of the season. When I jumped 2.04m I was so happy because I hadn&rsquo;t jumped that high for a long time.
&ldquo;Then before the outdoor season we decided to add two steps to my run-up to make it 11 steps. For five years I had jumped with the same technique, but I had got faster and I had more power and we wanted to improve and show better results because it was Olympic year, and the Olympics is the most important competition.
&ldquo;I wanted to jump higher at the Olympics, I was ready. My coach was a little bit disappointed! But I said we should enjoy the gold medal. At the next Games I would like to break the Olympic record of 2.06m.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
What are your big targets for 2025?
&ldquo;The indoor season, we have the European Indoor Championships and the World Indoors. I&rsquo;m looking forward to it because it was postponed from 2020 and finally it will happen. I know that I have a lot of fans from China &ndash; when I was at the Diamond League in Xiamen a lot of fans came to me and wrote to me. My manager gave me a lot of letters from fans. I am looking forward to going back.
"I just want to enjoy the atmosphere and produce a good result. I already have a gold medal and a silver medal from the World Indoor Championships, so of course I want to win a second gold medal. That is my ambition.&rdquo;
Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics

A look back over Yaroslava Mahuchikh's 2024 season

Press Release02 Nov 2023

Finalists announced for 2023 Men's Rising Star Award

World track athlete of the year Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s 2024 – in numbers

World field athlete of the year Mondo Duplantis’s 2024 – in numbers

World field athlete of the year Yaroslava Mahuchikh’s 2024 – in numbers