The <a href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/6753088e00156cf1973360a9.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">full qualification system</a> and the &lsquo;road to&rsquo; tracking tool have been published for the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25.
As has been the case for recent outdoor global championships, the qualification system is based on a dual pathway, with 50% of athletes expected to qualify through entry standards and the remaining 50% expected to qualify through world rankings.&nbsp;
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/stats-zone/road-to/7190593" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The &lsquo;Road to Tokyo 25&rsquo; online tool</a> is designed to help athletes, media and fans track the qualification process for next year's World Championships, to be held in the Japanese capital from 13-21 September 2025.
Searchable by discipline, country and qualification status, the tool provides a real-time view of each discipline over the course of the WCH Tokyo 25 qualification period.
The tool doesn&rsquo;t, and will not, indicate which athletes have been selected for entry by their member federation. Final entries will be published nearer to the time of the World Championships.
World Athletics

World Athletics Championships, Tokyo 2025

The full qualification system and the ‘road to’ tracking tool have been published for the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25

Full qualification system and 'road to' tool launch for World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25

<h3>First one-day event to achieve highest level against sustainability standard implemented by World Athletics this year</h3>
&nbsp;
In 2023, the meeting poster of the Oslo Bislett Games featured an illustration of a spear-tipped javelin, with a headline reading: &lsquo;Spearhead within sport and sustainability&rsquo;.
Underscoring that ambition to become a leader in the sport and sustainability space, the Oslo Bislett Games Diamond League fixture became the first one-day athletics competition to earn platinum level recognition against the <a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletics-better-world/sustainability/athletics-for-a-better-world-standard" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/athletics-better-world/sustainability/athletics-for-a-better-world-standard">Athletics for a Better World (ABW) Standard</a>, the evaluation system implemented by World Athletics this year that measures an event&rsquo;s achievements in sustainable delivery.
The event's achievements included:
&bull; Powered by 100% renewable energy &bull; 93% of the products used at the event were sourced within 100km &bull; 81% of spectators used public or active travel options to attend &bull; 100% of the event's 200 tonnes of CO2 emissions were offset by investment in a local carbon capture project and an international reforestation project &bull; Achieving 50-50 gender parity on the organising committee &bull; Strong internal and external sustainability communications &bull; Strong athlete engagement
<div style="padding: 56.25% 0 0 0; position: relative;"><iframe style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" title="Oslo 2024 - Sustainability Tour Edit (Master)" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/1015577162?h=b242f8ff02&amp;badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479" frameborder="0" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said: &ldquo;For the better part of a decade, sustainability has been a driving force for organisers of the Oslo Bislett Games. They've created a template for excellence that all sports, not just athletics, can follow to find success. Our congratulations to their team.&rdquo;
One of the most noteworthy initiatives was a zero-emission transfer of 120 athletes, personnel and media from Oslo to Stockholm for the Bauhaus-Galan meeting in the Swedish capital. Via a collaboration between organisers of the respective events that was four years in the making, electric buses transported everyone from the meeting hotel to Oslo&rsquo;s central station, where specially booked trains awaited. The five-hour train journey, which passed through serene settings dotted by dense forests and clear Nordic lakes, ended at the central station in Stockholm, just a two-minute walk from the meeting&rsquo;s main hotel. That one-way train journey released 247.46kg of CO2 equivalent into the atmosphere, 12 times less than the CO2e that would have been emitted if those 120 people flew, contributing to a substantial reduction in the event&rsquo;s carbon footprint.
The arrangement will be expanded in 2025. After a train journey connects all meeting stakeholders traveling from Oslo (12 June) to Stockholm (15 June), all competitors, personnel and officials participating in the Paavo Nurmi Games (17 June), a Continental Tour Gold event in Turku, will travel by ferry to the southwestern Finnish city.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6750408b084b659c7565bd94.JPEG" alt="Oslo Bislett Games electric buses" />
Oslo Bislett Games electric buses
</div>
In January 2024, sustainability reporting through the Athletics for a Better World Standard became a requirement for most global elite competitions managed or awarded by World Athletics. The standard consists of 55 action areas that address efforts to minimise an event&rsquo;s environmental impact and maximise its social and local economic benefits.
To date, nearly 100 events have either started or completed their ABW Standard reporting.
The Hypo Meeting in Gotzis, Austria, one of the world&rsquo;s premiere combined events competitions, achieved gold level. The Boston Marathon, one of the most famous marathons in the world, achieved silver.
When fully adopted, the ABW standard will be the largest sustainability evaluation system in the sport industry.
In March, the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24 became the first World Athletics Series (WAS) event to achieve the platinum level.
World Athletics

First one-day event to achieve highest level against sustainability standard implemented by World Athletics this year

Oslo Bislett Games earns platinum recognition for sustainable delivery

<h3>&bull; Competition decisions continue to drive innovation agenda</h3>
 The World Athletics Council committed to taking action against gender-based violence and made a series of other decisions ranging from competition updates to further driving the organisation&rsquo;s innovation agenda during the 236th World Athletics Council Meeting in Monaco on 3-4 December.
<h2>Safeguarding and action against gender-based violence</h2>
Building on the extensive work done by World Athletics to expand safeguarding measures in the sport, the World Athletics Council &ndash; working alongside the Athletes' Commission and Gender Leadership Taskforce &ndash; has identified campaigning against gender-based violence as a priority.
One in three women worldwide face violence in their lifetime, with recent high-profile cases in Africa sending shockwaves through the sport. Gender-based violence is a global issue, with all 18 members of the Athletes' Commission &ndash; from 18 different countries across all six areas &ndash; highlighting the impact and extent of gender-based violence in their regions.
While the Athletes' Commission recognises that the sport may not have the power to implement policy due to lack of jurisdiction outside of the sporting landscape, World Athletics can use the space in which it does have jurisdiction to drive change through three main areas: raising awareness, education, and lobbying for change.
Commenting on this clear mandate, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said: &ldquo;I am particularly encouraged by our athletes' commitment to address the subject of gender-based violence as a priority and the discussions on the role that World Athletics can play to address it.
&ldquo;The fact that both our Athletes&rsquo; Commission and our Gender Leadership Taskforce have put the critical item on their agendas this weekend fills me with confidence in our stakeholders' understanding that we have a responsibility that goes far beyond what is happening on the field of play and I look forward to working together with them on supporting our female athletes and to enshrine the results of this work in our safeguarding policies.&rdquo;
The Athletes&rsquo; Commission would like World Athletics to take a leadership role, for practical ideas that can help across the globe, and recommends that World Athletics explores partnerships with relevant organisations to combine forces and push for change.
World Athletics Athletes&rsquo; Commission Chair Valerie Adams said: &ldquo;In a sport as diverse and universal as athletics, it is rare to see athletes from different countries, disciplines and socio-economic backgrounds agree on something as unanimously as the topic of gender-based violence.
&ldquo;We as athletes are in a unique position to leverage our profiles and social influence in our communities to lobby for change. It will take a concerted effort from all of us to be leaders in the space to influence and drive the change we need.&rdquo;
<h2>Focus on innovation</h2>
In his summary of the year to the Council, Coe highlighted the innovations introduced in 2024 and the need to continue to embrace change.
&ldquo;It has been a fantastic year for our sport with some jaw-dropping performances, strong fan growth and engagement, exceptional broadcast and media coverage, and, of course, the Netflix series which thrust athletics into the centre of mainstream entertainment,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We hit the No.1 Olympic sport spot again, with the biggest broadcast reach of any Olympic sport.
&ldquo;I believe our sport is stronger than it has ever been, and we need to capitalise on this. At the start of this year, the first year of our new four-year strategic plan Pioneering Change, we added a fifth pillar: innovation. We made it a key priority in 2024 and we have had some significant success, but more needs to be done with a sense of urgency. We need to keep up the momentum.
&ldquo;Change is hard, but we know how to do it. By working in close collaboration with our athletes and stakeholders, and only implementing the most popular and thoroughly tested new concepts, we have an extraordinary opportunity, right now, to make a strong and growing sport stronger and even more popular.&rdquo;
As part of its innovation agenda, World Athletics this year launched the World Athletics Ultimate Championship and reconfigured the season to always end on a global championship. Building on this, a series of other innovations have now been approved by the World Athletics Council.
<h2>Competition updates</h2>
With the introduction and rescheduling of certain World Athletics Series events, the global calendar has become much more crowded in certain years. To address this, the World Athletics Council has approved the Competition Commission&rsquo;s recommendation to move the World Athletics Cross Country Championships from &lsquo;even&rsquo; to &lsquo;odd&rsquo; years, to be introduced after the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee in 2026.
The World Athletics Council also approved the introduction of new official senior road distances for race walking events, in order to help put the remarkable achievements by athletes into context, make the events more relatable for fans, and encourage mass participation. The standard senior distances for race walking will therefore change from:
&bull; 20km race walk to half marathon race walk (21.0975km) &bull; 35km race walk to marathon race walk (42.195km)
These changes will be implemented starting 1 January 2026 in senior World Athletics Series events.
At U20 level, the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 10,000m race walk at the World Athletics U20 Championships will be replaced by a 5000m race walk event, starting at the 2026 edition of the championships in Eugene.
In addition, the mixed 4x100m has been added to the programme for the World Athletics Relays Guangzhou 25, taking place on 10-11 May.
<h3>Timetables approved</h3>
The timetables for three World Athletics Series events have been approved and published.
&bull; <a href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/67507449fa771a82a0d48cd6.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/67507449fa771a82a0d48cd6.jpg">World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25</a> &bull; <a href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6750748efa771a82a0d48cd9.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6750748efa771a82a0d48cd9.jpg">World Athletics Relays Guangzhou 25</a> &bull; <a href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/675074c0fa771a82a0d48cdc.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/675074c0fa771a82a0d48cdc.jpg">World Athletics Road Running Championships San Diego 25</a>
The World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25, taking place 21-23 March, will feature finals in each of the six sessions. The World Athletics Relays Guangzhou 25, held 10-11 May, will include a mixed 4x100m for the first time. The World Athletics Road Running Championships San Diego 25 will have three days of action, on 26-28 September, kicking off with the mile events on Friday 26 September and closing with the half marathon races on Sunday 28 September.
In addition, the following dates have been protected from all international competitions to enable national championships to take place:
Outdoors: 2-3 August 2025 23-24 August 2025 20-21 June 2026 25-26 July 2026 31 July - 1 August 2027 17-18 June 2028
Indoors: 22-23 February 2025 28 February - 1 March 2026 20-21 February 2027 26-27 February 2028
<h3>Competition Manipulation Watch List</h3>
The World Athletics Council approved the introduction of a Competition Manipulation Watch List in 2022 in response to an Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) investigation prompted by reports of suspicious competition results. Following the 2024 annual review, and the progress made in enhancing officiating standards and processes, the following Member Federations will be removed from the list: Albania, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, T&uuml;rkiye and Uzbekistan, subject to conditions set by the Competition Commission.
<h2>Progress on priority projects</h2>
Innovating the athletics product was one of five priority projects for World Athletics in 2024 and significant advances have been made in this area, with a focus on season reconfiguration, timetable principles, discipline reform, and strategy for out of stadium and mass running events.
The sport delivered five World Athletics Series events in a busy year that also featured the Paris 2024 Olympic Games plus the launch of a groundbreaking new global championship event, the World Athletics Ultimate Championship.
Beijing was announced as host of the 2027 World Athletics Championships, while the number of known fans who actively choose to connect and engage with World Athletics and the sport surpassed one million.
For 2025, priority projects include the continued development of the 2026 World Athletics Ultimate Championship, sport innovation that includes out of stadium events, the World Athletics Series championships in Nanjing and Tokyo, along with digital transformation including development of the web experience.
&ldquo;The strength and increased popularity and profile of athletics is clear from the new investment that we are seeing others pour into our sport through new events and new formats,&rdquo; added Coe in his remarks to the World Athletics Council. &ldquo;I welcome this. But it is important that we are not sitting on the sidelines.
&ldquo;We have an extraordinary opportunity to make a strong and growing sport stronger and even more popular. And we have a responsibility to the sport and those who voted for us to be around this table to evolve the sport and keep it relevant.&rdquo;
World Athletics

The World Athletics Council committed to taking action against gender-based violence and made a series of other decisions ranging from competition updates to further driving the organisation’s innovation agenda during the 236th World Athletics Council Meeting in Monaco

World Athletics Council commits to action against gender-based violence

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/netherlands/sifan-hassan-14489606" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sifan Hassan</a>&rsquo;s extraordinary performance at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where she claimed 5000m and 10,000m bronze before winning the marathon in an Olympic record, was honoured at the World Athletics Awards 2024 in Monaco on Sunday (1).
The 31-year-old won the women&rsquo;s out of stadium category before being named as women&rsquo;s World Athlete of the Year.
The Dutch star earned the final athletics gold of the Paris Olympics in gruelling conditions on a course reckoned to be one of the most challenging ever seen at the Games.
Her marathon victory was confirmed in dramatic fashion as she clashed with Ethiopia&rsquo;s Tigist Assefa on the run-in before moving away over the final 100 metres to finish three seconds clear &ndash; the narrowest margin in any women&rsquo;s Olympic marathon.
&ldquo;I am so honoured,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Being named World Athlete of the Year among such incredible athletes, and on such a year, means the world to me. Since I was young, I watched marathon runners with admiration. They made me wonder if I could run like them, or if I could even finish a marathon. I used to wonder if I could even race a 10km.
&ldquo;This year, my curiosity pushed me to take a risk and compete in three distances at the Paris Olympics. It was terrifying, and that made each finish line more meaningful. It wasn&rsquo;t perfect, but sometimes happiness comes from embracing imperfections.
&ldquo;This award isn&rsquo;t just for me, my team, or my family. It&rsquo;s for every young girl out there, watching, dreaming, and believing she can achieve greatness through sport. To all of you, I want to say: keep exercising, keep training, keep pushing, keep believing, and always remember that no dream is too big.&rdquo;
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pMpF5w_hSl0?si=4BiDxn7GJKazj3o_" width="100%" height="475" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> 
<h2>Hassan&rsquo;s 2024 in numbers</h2>
 At the Paris Olympics you became the first woman to win medals in the 5000m, 10,000m and marathon at the same Games, and the first athlete since Emil Zatopek, who won all three men&rsquo;s titles in Helsinki in 1952. Does this kind of historic statistic resonate with you?
&ldquo;To me, it&rsquo;s not about history, it&rsquo;s about what I can do. Everybody is different. I focus on what I can do, how I can show my strength. How am I going to improve, even my weaknesses? So, I am always excited, curious to see what I can do.&rdquo;
 The Paris 2024 marathon course has gone down as one of the toughest and most challenging in Olympic history, taking place in gruelling conditions and featuring one long, sustained climb and a second almost vertiginous climb around the 29km marker before a long, steep, giddy downhill stretch heading back into the city centre. What are your memories of this unique challenge?
&ldquo;After I ran the Tokyo marathon, I looked at the Paris course. I started really practising to run 600 metres up, then 800 metres down. I did it so often that I couldn&rsquo;t sit down, I couldn&rsquo;t run. I almost injured myself.
&ldquo;My coach said to me: &lsquo;Why are you only focusing on this?&rsquo; And I said: &lsquo;You didn&rsquo;t see what I saw!&rsquo; Really, before Paris, I overtrained. I felt like I was done.
&ldquo;When it came to the hill &ndash; here we go! &ndash; I was almost walking. Everybody was running, but I thought: 'I&rsquo;m going to catch you because this downhill will be crazy'. I knew how hard it would be. And because of the practice, it made it less hard. It was a crazy course &ndash; but it was beautiful.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/674f0eebaf5869093fddd2a2.jpg" alt="Sifan Hassan during the marathon in Paris" />
Sifan Hassan during the marathon in Paris (&copy; Mattia Ozbot)
</div>
Your marathon win in an Olympic record of 2:22:55 came just 37 hours after you had won 10,000m bronze, and six days after your 5000m bronze. What did you do to prepare in that short time?
&ldquo;After the 10,000m I had an ice bath and there was doping control, so I got back late to the village. When I race, really, I talk too much. I can&rsquo;t stop talking. I stayed awake until 6am and had maybe one or two hours&rsquo; sleep. Then the next day there was the medal ceremony.
&ldquo;The night before the marathon I remember cursing myself, hating myself, saying: &lsquo;Why have you done the track, you&rsquo;ve got the marathon tomorrow!&rsquo;
&ldquo;I woke up at 4am and I was telling myself: 'This is the wrong thing I have done'. Then before the race, I looked at everybody and how fresh they were. And I looked terrible! I was so scared of myself. I tried talking to myself then, getting ready to use my brain to run.
&ldquo;After I won, I got to sleep at 3am. The night had been crazy with media and supporters. I heard my name a lot, and saw a lot of orange! After a couple more days, I felt the pain.&rdquo;
 In the marathon, you finished three seconds clear after outsprinting Ethiopia&rsquo;s then world record-holder Tigist Assefa. It was the smallest ever winning margin in the women&rsquo;s marathon at the Games. Were you always confident you could beat her? How well do you remember your collision on the run-in?
&ldquo;You know, when I run there is always some kind of big drama. And that marathon I told myself I will do everything. At one point, I thought I was going to fall down. I didn&rsquo;t want to fall down &ndash; it would look bad. So it was crazy. You know, I don&rsquo;t really like drama, but drama follows me.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/674f0fadaf5869093fddd2a5.jpg" alt="Sifan Hassan at the World Athletics Awards 2024" />
Sifan Hassan at the World Athletics Awards 2024 (&copy; Christel Saneh for World Athletics)
</div>
You have now run four marathons &ndash; London and Chicago in 2023, Tokyo and Paris this year. How many marathons do you think you will run in 2025?
&ldquo;My first three marathons were all different and for the Olympic marathon, I was really fighting myself. One side of me said: 'concentrate on the marathon', the other side said: 'better that you do the track'. I was really struggling with myself. I didn&rsquo;t have confidence I was going to win after the track.
&ldquo;But I think I&rsquo;m going to do the track and road again, because I just want to do those things, a combination of track and road close to each other. Because I am very curious. I really like it because I don&rsquo;t know for sure if it is going to happen. I like the excitement.
&ldquo;One time, I want to do four marathons in a year &ndash; from February to February. I want to see if it is possible.&rdquo;
Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics

Sifan Hassan’s extraordinary performance at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where she claimed 5000m and 10,000m bronze before winning the marathon in an Olympic record, was honoured at the World Athletics Awards 2024

World Athlete of the Year Sifan Hassan's 2024 – in numbers

World Athletics is deeply saddened to hear that Ilke Wyludda, Germany&rsquo;s 1996 Olympic discus champion, died on Sunday (1) at the age of 55.
Wyludda was born in Leipzig on 28 March 1969 and took up athletics as a child. By the age of 16 she had become a double European U20 medallist, claiming discus gold and shot put silver at the 1985 event in Cottbus. She won the first of her two world U20 discus titles the following year and gained double European U20 gold in 1987 before retaining her world U20 crown in 1988. That was the year she set the still-standing world U20 discus record of 74.40m.
In total, she set 14 world U20 records &ndash; 12 in the discus and two in the shot put &ndash; between August 1986 and September 1988. She also achieved a 41 competition win streak between 1989 and 1991, her victories in that time including the first of her senior European title wins in 1990.
Her two world silver medals were secured in 1991 and 1995 and she won her second senior continental title in 1994. Her Olympic win came in 1996 in Atlanta, where she threw 69.96m.
Wyludda&rsquo;s PB of 74.56m from 1989 still places her joint second on the world all-time list.
&ldquo;With Ilke Wyludda, a figurehead of German athletics has unfortunately left us far too early at the age of 55,&rdquo; said German Athletics Federation Chairman Idriss Gonschinska. &ldquo;The athletics family mourns the loss of a truly great athlete who fought against injuries and illnesses throughout her life and yet remained committed to her sport for decades.&rdquo;
Wyludda retired in 2000, after finishing seventh at that year&rsquo;s Olympic Games in Sydney, and went on to become a physiotherapist before studying medicine. She returned to competition and became a Paralympic finalist in London in 2012 after having her right leg amputated due to a bacterial infection.&nbsp;
She went on to claim shot put bronze at the 2015 World Para Athletics Championships and decided to end her athletics career in 2017.
World Athletics

Ilke Wyludda, 1969-2024

1996 Olympic discus champion Wyludda dies

A season of historic achievement by 21-year-old <a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/botswana/letsile-tebogo-14883897" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Letsile Tebogo</a> was richly acknowledged in Monaco on Sunday (1) as he was announced as the men&rsquo;s World Athlete of the Year at the World Athletics Awards 2024.
Tebogo, who also accepted an award as men&rsquo;s track athlete of the year, earned Botswana&rsquo;s first Olympic gold medal in any sport as he won the 200m at the Paris Games in an African record of 19.46.
The next day he helped Botswana reach the men&rsquo;s 4x400m final, where his extraordinary final leg earned silver behind the United States in an African record of 2:54.53. His split of 43.04 is among the fastest ever recorded.
Tebogo&rsquo;s Paris showing &ndash; which was marked with a national holiday &ndash; had begun with a sixth-place finish in the 100m final in a national record of 9.86.
Speaking on stage at the Theatre Princesse Grace in Monaco, Tebogo &ndash; who had dedicated his Olympic performances to his late mother Seratiwa &ndash; said: &ldquo;It feels good to know that what you have been putting in throughout the year is now giving you some of the fruits that you have been waiting for. I&rsquo;m grateful for the team that was around me.&rdquo;
Looking ahead, he added: &ldquo;I believe the next year is going to be a different Letsile; he&rsquo;s going to be a changed and a mature one.&rdquo;
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Hj68OaqPC_k?si=MhzctEw5MWBvC7lh" width="100%" height="475" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> 
<h2>Tebogo&rsquo;s 2024 in numbers</h2>
 Your 200m win in Paris was a first ever Olympic gold medal in any sport for Botswana. How does it feel to make that kind of history and have a national holiday declared in your honour?
&ldquo;It was a great feeling. I didn&rsquo;t expect the President to give out a holiday in my honour, but it was one of the greatest feelings ever. When I went into that race, the first thing I thought was changing the perspective of Africa from being a long-distance continent into being a short-distance continent. I looked at a lot of factors and I knew I had everything in me to make it happen.
&ldquo;So that made me more hungry to succeed. The night before the final I had to set down why I had started in this journey and what I wanted to achieve. At the end of the Olympic Games, would I achieve what I wanted to achieve? So that&rsquo;s how I came to my conclusion. And I also thought that a lot of people were relying on me to make everything happen.&rdquo;
 You won the Olympic 200m title in an African record of 19.46. You also ran nine sub-20 second 200m races this season. How important was this consistency to your performance in Paris and how were you able to achieve it?
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t even count how many 19-second races I ran in this season. Because it was Olympic year, there was just that drive in me that wanted to keep on going, even though we had to cut some races. But if it was nine times, I believe it. It showed we were really on the right track and that this was just the beginning.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t change anything in training &ndash; it was just a combination of things I have been working on. It was the same environment, the same places across the continents. Nothing has really changed in our training sessions. The confidence came in from the 200m. So that&rsquo;s how we went about it.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/674f14025e34d95ffccfafe7.jpg" alt="Letsile Tebogo at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco" />
Letsile Tebogo at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
At the World Athletics Relays in May you ran a split of 43.72 to help Botswana win the 4x400m. And when you ran the anchor leg to help Botswana earn Olympic silver you clocked 43.04. Were you surprised at what you managed to achieve, and how do you rate the relay successes?
&ldquo;In Paris I was supposed to run the final only but we had an injury and we had to look at the options. They chose me to hand over the baton in the heats. They said I should just jog out the race but when I saw the splits it was really crazy.
&ldquo;The day of the final was the one we had all been waiting for and I was ready to give it my best. When we found out I had split 43-zero it was just crazy and we couldn&rsquo;t believe it. Looking at how many times I had run during the Olympics, it showed that we were really hungry for that medal.
&ldquo;It meant more because it was a group thing. From the beginning of the camp, that is what we had locked ourselves in for. We were happy with the silver because it was an improvement from the Tokyo Olympics and hopefully in LA 2028 we will get the gold medal.&rdquo; 
You set two national records in the 100m &ndash; 9.88 in London and 9.86 in the Olympic final. You also set a world 300m best of 30.69 in Pretoria. How do you see your career progressing &ndash; will it involve the 100m and 200m, or the 200m and 400m, or all of them?
&ldquo;I think for now it will be all of them. I don&rsquo;t want to limit myself into a particular event. I just want to leave it open so that I know when I am training that they can use me again in the 400m, not just be the sprints guy.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/674def34290bce3928afddd5.jpg" alt="Letsile Tebogo at the World Athletics Awards 2024" />
Letsile Tebogo at the World Athletics Awards 2024 (&copy; Sona Maleterova)
</div>
You are only 21 and you have achieved so much already. What would you hope to have on your CV at 31?
&ldquo;I would just like to be in the history books as the youngest guy to ever do it, at 21 or 22 or whenever.&rdquo;
 Your mum was your number one. How did you manage to achieve what you did in a year when she so sadly died?
&ldquo;I think firstly I am grateful for the team that was around me &ndash; my teammates, my coach, my family members. Because when my mother passed away, I thought it was the end of my career. Because there was no drive in me. But I remember one day I was asked: &lsquo;Just come and watch us train.&rsquo; So I did that, and I started getting more interested again to get back into the sport.&nbsp;It was a really tough balance, but I&rsquo;m glad that when my mother saw that it was coming to an end, she to me: &lsquo;I have tried to be strong my son, now it is your turn.&rsquo; So I think she was preparing me for what was going to happen.
&ldquo;It was not an easy journey and it was not an easy thing for me to overcome. I had to also be there for my little sister, be there for myself. My sister is 12. I don&rsquo;t think she is going to follow in my footsteps because she is more into swimming, but she is proud of me.&rdquo;
Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics

A season of historic achievement by 21-year-old Letsile Tebogo was richly acknowledged in Monaco as he was announced as the men’s World Athlete of the Year

World Athlete of the Year Letsile Tebogo's 2024 – in numbers

Olympic champions Sifan Hassan and Letsile Tebogo have been announced as World Athletes of the Year at the World Athletics Awards 2024 in Monaco.
Following a vote by fans, Hassan and Tebogo received top honours on an evening that saw six athletes crowned in three categories &ndash; track, field and out of stadium &ndash; before the overall two winners were revealed.
Tebogo was confirmed as men&rsquo;s track athlete of the year, with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone receiving the women&rsquo;s honour. Hassan claimed the women&rsquo;s out of stadium crown and Tamirat Tola the men&rsquo;s, while Mondo Duplantis and Yaroslava Mahuchikh were named field athletes of the year.
This year&rsquo;s Rising Stars were also celebrated, with Sembo Almayew and Mattia Furlani receiving recognition.
<h3>World Athletes of the Year for 2024</h3>
Women&rsquo;s World Athlete of the Year: Sifan Hassan (NED) Men&rsquo;s World Athlete of the Year: Letsile Tebogo (BOT)
Women&rsquo;s track: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) Women&rsquo;s field: Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) Women&rsquo;s out of stadium: Sifan Hassan (NED) Men&rsquo;s track: Letsile Tebogo (BOT) Men&rsquo;s field: Mondo Duplantis (SWE) Men&rsquo;s out of stadium: Tamirat Tola (ETH)
Women&rsquo;s Rising Star: Sembo Almayew (ETH) Men&rsquo;s Rising Star: Mattia Furlani (ITA)
Watch the full 2024 World Athletics Awards show exclusively on Inside Track:<a href="https://worldathletics.org/videos/playlist/latest-videos/674d8ca46b6a1bb5c8c6c1a3" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/674e2e99005014a8550afdfa.jpg" alt="Watch the full 2024 World Athletics Awards show exclusively on Inside Track" /></a>
&ldquo;At the end of what has been a stellar year for athletics, we are delighted to reveal our list of World Athletes of the Year &ndash; both in their respective disciplines and overall,&rdquo; said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. &ldquo;This group of athletes represents the very best of our sport and has this year redefined what is possible in terms of athletic performance.
&ldquo;Our 2024 cohort set new standards in heights, speed and distance, including six world records and a host of Olympic and national records between them.
&ldquo;I congratulate all our award winners, and all of the athletes nominated for these honours, and I thank them for inspiring us all with their performances this year.&rdquo;
World Athletes of the Year Hassan and Tebogo both won gold and claimed multiple medals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Dutch star Hassan&rsquo;s medal treble in Paris was capped by her winning the final athletics gold medal of the Games with her triumph in the marathon in an Olympic record of 2:22:55.&nbsp;That performance came just 37 hours after Hassan claimed bronze in the 10,000m, and six days after her first medal in the French capital &ndash; also bronze &ndash; in the 5000m.
As a result, she became the first woman to win medals in the 5000m, 10,000m and marathon at the same Games, and the first athlete since Emil Zatopek, who won all three men&rsquo;s titles in Helsinki in 1952.
Tebogo also made history in Paris when he won the 200m, as he claimed a first ever Olympic gold medal in any sport for Botswana. He ran an African record of 19.46 &ndash; a time that moved him to fifth on the world all-time list &ndash; and that performance followed his sixth-place finish in the 100m final. He went on to form part of Botswana&rsquo;s silver medal-winning men&rsquo;s 4x400m team.
He dipped under 20 seconds for 200m a total of nine times in 2024, with those performances topped by his Olympic title-winning mark which remained the fastest of the year.
His fellow track athlete of the year, McLaughlin-Levrone, improved her own world 400m hurdles record twice, to 50.65 and 50.37, and claimed Olympic gold in that event as well as in the 4x400m. Tola, who joined Hassan in being named out of stadium athlete of the year, won the Olympic marathon title in Paris in an Olympic record.
World records were set by both field athletes of the year. Mahuchikh cleared 2.10m to improve the world high jump record before winning Olympic gold, while Duplantis revised his own world pole vault record three times, eventually taking it to 6.26m, and won the Olympic title.
"Thank you to the fans, to everybody who voted," said Hassan, who was in Monaco to receive her two awards. "I never thought I was going to win this one. This year was crazy. It&rsquo;s not only me &ndash; all the athletes have been amazing. I&rsquo;m really grateful. What more can I say?"
Standing alongside Hassan on the stage at the Theatre Princesse Grace, Tebogo said: "It feels amazing to know that the fans are always there for us athletes. It was a great year.
"This means a lot," he added. "It&rsquo;s not just about the team that is around you, there are a lot of fans out there that really want us to win something great for the continent. It was a real surprise to hear my name because I didn&rsquo;t expect this."
During the ceremony, a moment was taken to remember last year&rsquo;s men&rsquo;s out of stadium athlete of the year Kelvin Kiptum, the marathon world record-holder who died in a road traffic accident in February, as well as other figures from the sport who have passed away in 2024.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/674ca0695a7474627ee8ce71.JPG" alt="World Athletics Awards 2024" />
World Athletics Awards 2024 (&copy; World Athletics)
</div>
<h2>Almayew and Furlani named Rising Stars of 2024</h2>
Not only did Sembo Almayew and Mattia Furlani achieve great things as U20 athletes in 2024, they both also secured success on the senior stage.
Almayew finished fifth in the 3000m steeplechase final at the Paris Olympics, going close to her own national U20 record with her 9:00.83 performance, before she travelled to Lima where she won the world U20 title, setting a championship record in the process. With that win, the 19-year-old became the first ever Ethiopian world U20 women&rsquo;s steeplechase champion.
Furlani improved the world U20 long jump record to 8.38m at the European Championships on home soil in Rome to secure silver, and he won two more senior major medals at the World Indoor Championships, where he got another silver, and the Olympic Games, where he claimed bronze.
In Glasgow &ndash; at the age of 19 years and 24 days &ndash; Furlani became the youngest athlete ever to win a world indoor medal in the horizontal jumps.
<h2>Knight wins President&rsquo;s Award</h2>
The winner of the President&rsquo;s Award was also announced in Monaco on Sunday (1), with Nike co-founder Phil Knight receiving the honour in recognition of his constant inspiring support for athletics and the development of the sport.
The President's Award, first awarded in 2016, recognises and honours exceptional service to athletics. Past winners of the award include the Ukrainian Athletics Association, British journalist Vikki Orvice, Swiss meeting director Andreas Brugger, Jamaican sprint superstar Usain Bolt, the Abbott World Marathon Majors, and 1968 men&rsquo;s 200m medallists Tommie Smith, Peter Norman and John Carlos for their iconic moment on the podium in Mexico.
&ldquo;Phil Knight&rsquo;s passion for athletics is pretty much lifelong,&rdquo; said Coe. &ldquo;He developed an almost father-son relationship with his coach, the legendary Bill Bowerman, whose training approach was a departure from the orthodoxies of the day and who not only guided Knight&rsquo;s career on the track but became a central figure when Phil took his first tentative steps in the running shoe business that became the dominant global force Nike.
&ldquo;His love of athletics runs through Nike. It is a business created and driven by runners, with Phil never afraid to be the front runner.&rdquo;
Knight said: &ldquo;Thank you, Seb Coe, for the ultimate honour of the President&rsquo;s Award, given by World Athletics. I am in great company, with Tommie Smith and John Carlos, and Usain Bolt. Obviously, I didn&rsquo;t run as fast as those guys, but I am in such high company that I am thrilled by the award. Track and field has always been an important part of Nike &ndash; it has always been a central part of who Nike is.
&ldquo;I do think running will continue to grow. Not only does Seb and his team do a great job promoting the sport, but it is a sport that not only is enjoyable, but it is probably the best fitness activity you can do. So, for me to win this honour, it is very meaningful.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
<hr />
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<h2>Other award winners</h2>
Coaching Achievement Award <a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/coaching-achievement-award-2024-trevor-painter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trevor Painter</a>
Woman of the Year <a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/woman-of-the-year-2024-renee-washington" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Renee Washington</a>
Photograph of the Year <a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/photograph-year-award-2024-michael-steele" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Steele</a>
Member Federation Award <a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/member-federation-award-2024-usatf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">USA Track &amp; Field</a>
 World Athletics

Olympic champions Sifan Hassan and Letsile Tebogo have been announced as World Athletes of the Year at the World Athletics Awards 2024 in Monaco

Hassan and Tebogo named World Athletes of the Year

Kenya&rsquo;s Sabastian Sawe set a world lead on his marathon debut, while Ethiopia&rsquo;s Megertu Alemu also captured a solid victory at the Valencia Marathon Trinidad Alfonso &ndash; a World Athletics Elite Platinum Label event &ndash; on Sunday (1).&nbsp;
Sawe&rsquo;s winning time was 2:02:05, just 12 seconds off the fastest ever debut set by his compatriot Kelvin Kiptum two years ago and a mark that moves him to fifth on the world all-time list, while Alemu ran 2:16:49, just 15 seconds outside her lifetime best.
The men&rsquo;s event had been billed as a thrilling showdown between experienced specialists such as Sisay Lemma, Deresa Geleta and Kenenisa Bekele, versus some promising debutants including Sawe and Hillary Kipkoech. Perfectly paced by a trio of pacemakers &ndash; Kenya&rsquo;s Samwel Mailu, Erick Sang and Vincent Nyageo &ndash; the leading men went through the opening 5km in 14:31. That cadence was maintained until the leading pack reached the 10km checkpoint in 29:04 and 15km in 43:39. By then, nine athletes remained at the helm including all the favourites, Geleta and Lemma running closest to the pacemakers.&nbsp;
The halfway mark was passed in 1:01:17, 42 seconds slower than last year&rsquo;s split when Lemma set the course record of 2:01:48. Unlike last year, when he performed conservatively over the first half, Bekele was running quite bravely as the 42-year-old travelled in third or fourth place. But some two kilometres later, the multiple Olympic and world champion began to lose ground and by the 28th kilometre the relentless 2:55/km rhythm whittled down the leading pack to five: Kenya&rsquo;s Mateiko and Sawe plus Ethiopia&rsquo;s Geleta, Lemma and Birhanu Legese.&nbsp;
Once the last pacemaker dropped out with the clock reading 1:33, Lemma began to falter to lose any chance of retaining his title. At the front, Mateiko and Geleta broke away from Sawe and Legese, those pairs separated by 30 metres inside the 32nd kilometre. It was Mateiko, who was not able to finish the Chicago 2023 and London 2024 marathons, who seemed to decide the victory was in his favour shortly afterwards as he became a lonesome leader. The three-time Valencia half marathon podium place finisher had built a five-second gap on Sawe and Geleta, while Legese could not maintain that pace and travelled in fourth place way back.
Mateiko&rsquo;s getaway proved to be short-lived as he was reeled in by Sawe and Geleta at the 36th kilometre, when the predicted final time remained at 2:02:35. It was then that the eventual winner found another gear to speed away easily from Mateiko and Geleta, who finished fifth at the Paris Olympics. Sawe, who has completed all his nine half marathons under the 60-minute barrier, upped his pace to the 2:48/2:50 range to gradually extend his lead. By the 40km point he clocked 1:55:42, 20 seconds ahead of Geleta, while a tired Mateiko travelled another 35 seconds in arrears.&nbsp;
Sawe showed a magnificent display of solo running over the closing kilometres, going faster and faster as the end was approaching to finally finish unopposed in a world-leading performance of 2:02:05, including a 14:06 closing five kilometres.
Geleta, the Seville Marathon winner, improved his career best to 2:02:38 for second place, while Mateiko slowed dramatically over the final stages but still managed to finish the distance at the third time of asking in 2:04:24, holding off a late challenge from Tanzania&rsquo;s 2017 world bronze medallist Alphonce Simbu.
Simbu achieved a perfectly balanced two halves (1:02:13/1:02:25) to finish fourth in a PB of 2:04:38, two seconds clear of the 42-year-old Swiss athlete Tadesse Abraham, who clocked a lifetime best and national record of 2:04:40 for fifth. In a race of an incredible depth, 10 men ducked under the 2:05 milestone while Bekele dropped out shortly after the 31st kilometre.
Sawe, the world half marathon champion, has won seven out of his nine half marathon appearances, topped by a 58:02 time in Rome in 2022. His two defeats came in Valencia, so Sunday&rsquo;s performance marks his first victory in the city.&nbsp;
The winner, whose two halves were timed at 1:01:18 and 1:00:47, said: &ldquo;Honestly, I had built up very good for this debut and was quite confident of doing well. It&rsquo;s an amazing day, I&rsquo;m so happy to be here and win in Valencia, which is so beautiful.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;I was used to running the half marathon event, I was comfortable during the first half, then I was close to the helm of the race and I thought I could go faster and I just did it. I dedicate this win to the victims of the Valencia floods, I pray for them.&rdquo;
<h2>Alemu confirms she is the strongest&nbsp;</h2>
Following the withdrawal of Ethiopia&rsquo;s course record-holder Amane Beriso due to a stress fracture, the women&rsquo;s contest kicked off at the scheduled 3:12 rhythm in an attempt to lower the 2:14:58 course record set in 2022. The opening five and 10 kilometres were covered in 16:02 and 32:03, respectively, and by then all the favourites remained in the leading pack, with Alemu joined by her compatriot Tiruye Mesfin, Uganda&rsquo;s Stella Chesang and Kenya&rsquo;s Evaline Chirchir. The clock read 47:56 by the 15km mark and that cadence proved to be too quick for Mesfin and Chirchir, that pair running 18 seconds in arrears by then.
Running alongside lots of male athletes, Alemu and the Paris Olympics eighth-place finisher Chesang went through halfway in 1:07:15, well on schedule to break Beriso&rsquo;s record, with Mesfin and Chirchir some 300 metres back timed at 1:08:06 but quick enough to set respective career bests. Chesang&rsquo;s resistance came to an end some 1:11 into the race when she just could not stay with Alemu&rsquo;s pace. The Ethiopian managed to maintain her speed until the 30th kilometre, which she reached in 1:35:55, but from then on the 27-year-old dropped her rhythm as she timed 16:48 for the following two five-kilometre sections (30-40km) and her chances of a course record clearly vanished.&nbsp;
Even so, Alemu&rsquo;s win was never in jeopardy as she&nbsp;gradually strengthened her advantage on Chesang to 40 seconds by the 30th kilometre and a massive 1:21 at the 40km checkpoint, while Mesfin easily got rid of Chirchir just before reaching the 25th kilometre. At the tape, Alemu posted her second quickest ever time thanks to a 2:16:49 clocking, while the runner-up Chesang broke the 2:20 barrier for the first time in a national record of 2:18:26. Mesfin completed the classy podium, also improving her lifetime best by 12 seconds with 2:18:35.
&ldquo;I know I can do a better mark but I&rsquo;m happy to win today,&rdquo; said Alemu. &ldquo;Between 35 and 40 kilometres I wasn&rsquo;t feeling good, so I decided to reduced my rhythm. At the finish line, all the people were clapping and that was really special. I can feel today it&rsquo;s a different day for Valencia.&rdquo;
It is only in recent weeks that event organisers were able to confirm that the race would go ahead. At the end of October, the province of Valencia was hit by extreme floods, claiming the lives of 229 people. The natural disaster lasted for more than two weeks, causing substantial damage in the area. Organisers confirmed that all the proceeds from the sponsors, the organisation&rsquo;s own funds and the runners will be donated to one or more projects for the reconstruction of the affected areas.
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women 1 Megertu Alemu (ETH) 2:16:49 2 Stella Chesang (UGA) 2:18:26 3 Tiruye Mesfin (ETH) 2:18:35 4 Evaline Chirchir (KEN) 2:20:33 5 Majida Maayouf (ESP) 2:21:43 6 Chimdesa Kumsa (ETH) 2:21:54 7 Laura Luengo (ESP) 2:22:31 8 Isobel Batt-Doyle (AUS) 2:22:59 9 Moira Stewartova (CZE) 2:23:44 10 Sara Hall (USA) 2:23:45&nbsp;
Men 1 Sabastian Sawe (KEN) 2:02:05 2 Deresa Geleta (ETH) 2:02:38 3 Daniel Mateiko (KEN) 2:04:24 4 Alphonce Simbu (TAN) 2:04:38 5 Tadesse Abraham (SUI) 2:04:40 6 Chimdessa Debele (ETH) 2:04:44 7 Maru Teferi (ISR) 2:04:45 8 Hillary Kipkoech (KEN) 2:04:45 9 Samuel Fitwi (GER) 2:04:56 10 Sisay Lemma (ETH) 2:04:59
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-label-road-races/calendar-results/7207332/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a> 
<h2>Amare and Gudeta win Shanghai Marathon</h2>
Eritrea's Samsom Amare ran a PB to win the men&rsquo;s title while Ethiopia&rsquo;s Bekelech Gudeta won the women&rsquo;s race at the Shanghai Marathon, a World Athletics Elite Platinum Label road race, on Sunday (1).
Amare took 44 seconds off his previous best to win in 2:06:26 ahead of Kenya&rsquo;s Titus Kipruto (2:06:30) and Solomon Kirwa Yego (2:06:34). Gudeta triumphed in 2:25:21, leading an Ethiopian top three ahead of Sisay Meseret Gola (2:25:29) and Tejitu Siyum (2:26:28 PB).
Amare had set his previous PB of 2:07:10 when winning the Abu Dhabi Marathon on his debut at the distance in December 2023. He went on to finish 10th in the Paris Olympics marathon, clocking 2:08:56.
Finishing four seconds behind him in Shanghai was Kipruto, who finished fourth in the Tokyo Marathon and eighth in the World Championships marathon last year. Yego was another four seconds back and was followed by his compatriots Timothy Kiplagat, Eric Kiprono Kiptanui and Kenneth Keter.
Gudeta, who set her PB of 2:22:54 when winning the Xiamen Marathon in January, had a bigger margin of victory as she finished eight seconds clear of Gola, with their compatriot Siyum finishing almost a minute further back.
China&rsquo;s Zhang Deshun finished fourth and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Meseret Belete fifth.
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women 1 Bekelech Gudeta (ETH) 2:25:21 2 Sisay Meseret Gola (ETH) 2:25:29 3 Tejitu Siyum (ETH) 2:26:28 4 Zhang Deshun (CHN) 2:26:39 5 Meseret Belete (ETH) 2:30:02
Men 1 Samsom Amare (ERI) 2:06:26 2 Titus Kipruto (KEN) 2:06:30 3 Solomon Kirwa Yego (KEN) 2:06:34 4 Timothy Kiplagat (KEN) 2:06:43 5 Eric Kiprono Kiptanui (KEN) 2:07:20
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-label-road-races/calendar-results/7207769/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>

Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe set a world lead on his marathon debut, while Ethiopia’s Megertu Alemu also captured a solid victory at the Valencia Marathon Trinidad Alfonso

Marathon world lead for debutant Sawe in Valencia

USA Track &amp; Field has been named as winner of the Member Federation Award, the fourth honour announced as part of the World Athletics Awards 2024.
The Member Federation Award recognises a Member Federation that has distinguished itself in its accomplishments throughout the year and, as a result, positively contributed to the growth and profile of the sport. Six federations were shortlisted for this year&rsquo;s award, each nominated by one of the six area associations, before USA Track &amp; Field was selected as the winner.
&ldquo;On behalf of USA Track &amp; Field, I am deeply honoured to accept the World Athletics Member Federation Award,&rdquo; said USA Track &amp; Field CEO Max Siegel. &ldquo;This recognition is a testament to the incredible dedication, talent and teamwork of our entire USA Track &amp; Field family - our staff, our coaches, our athletes, members and volunteers who strive for excellence every day.&rdquo;
The US team finished top of the medal table at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, securing 34 medals, 14 of them gold. Those gold medal-winning performances included world records by Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in the 400m hurdles and by the mixed 4x400m team. The team&rsquo;s Olympic performance in Paris was driven by a diverse range of medals in sprints, jumps and throws.
The federation also showcased its strength on the field of play by achieving top spot on the medal tables at the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 and the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24. In Lima the team claimed 16 medals, including eight gold, and in Glasgow the team&rsquo;s tally was 20 medals, six of them gold.
One of the key factors behind these successes has been the implementation of an athletics development programme that covers all categories and events. From youth to elite levels, USATF has created a structure that identifies, nurtures and supports talents across the country, providing athletes with access to quality coaching, high level facilities and opportunities to compete.
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&ldquo;2024 has been a truly remarkable year, filled with extraordinary achievements, personal bests and historic milestones on the global stage. I&rsquo;m incredibly proud of the journey we have taken together at USATF, showcasing our dominance on the track and field, from the World U20 Championships to the Paris Olympic Games and the World Masters Championships,&rdquo; added Siegel.
&ldquo;But this award reflects not only our accomplishments on the field, but also the values that drive us as an organisation, including integrity, inclusivity, leadership, innovation and an unwavering commitment to being the gold standard in everything that we do.&nbsp;
&ldquo;As we close out this unforgettable year, I&rsquo;m confident that the momentum from 2024 will carry us into a thrilling 2025. In less than four years, the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games will bring the world to our doorstep, providing a once-in-a-lifetime chance to elevate our sport and highlight the extraordinary talent of our athletes on home soil. USATF remains committed to advancing the sport, empowering the next generation of champions and leading with excellence.&rdquo;
Further World Athletics Awards announcements will be made this weekend, with the World Athletes of the Year and Rising Stars being revealed on Sunday (1 December).
World Athletics

USA Track & Field has been named as winner of the Member Federation Award, the fourth honour announced as part of the World Athletics Awards 2024

United States wins Member Federation Award

Michael Steele&rsquo;s image of Tigist Assefa and Sifan Hassan colliding during the women&rsquo;s marathon at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has been selected as the World Athletics Photograph of the Year.
The third award announced as part of the World Athletics Awards 2024, the World Athletics Photograph of the Year shines a spotlight on some of the outstanding images captured by professional photographers.
From the 114 images that were submitted, a panel of judges &ndash; comprising Valerie Adams, Raquel Cavaco Nunes, Mathieu Forget, Pascal Rondeau and Christian Taylor &ndash; narrowed the entries to <a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/digital-exhibition-2024-photograph-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">11 shortlisted images</a> and <a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/finalists-2024-photograph-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">three finalists</a> before deciding on the winner.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/673b828f74549a2448fee5d6.jpg" alt="Tigist Assefa and Sifan Hassan collide during the marathon at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games" />
Tigist Assefa and Sifan Hassan collide during the marathon at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (&copy; Michael Steele)
</div>
&ldquo;Many thanks for this award and the time given by the judges, and especially to World Athletics for the continuing support for all the international photographers who are shooting athletics throughout the season,&rdquo; said Steele, whose photo captures Ethiopia&rsquo;s Assefa and Hassan of the Netherlands during the final stages of the marathon.
&ldquo;It was especially nice to capture this picture in the final event of the athletics schedule at the Olympics in Paris this summer,&rdquo; added Steele. &ldquo;It was quite an incredible finish to the women&rsquo;s marathon, with Hassan and Assefa battling for gold.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;d found this position 200 metres away from the finish line and there were huge swarms of people gathered either side of the rails. When they came around this final bend, they were just locked together. How they didn&rsquo;t fall to the ground &ndash; they actually collided with each other on the inside of the rail. Hassan took the inside, but they managed to stay on their feet.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Hassan just sprinted from that moment on, to the finish line, and nothing was going to deny her gold. It was a nice moment to capture.&rdquo;
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Steele has been a professional sports photographer since 1986 and has worked as a staff photographer at Getty Images since 1999. Athletics is one of the many different sports that he covers.
Further World Athletics Awards announcements will be made this weekend, with the World Athletes of the Year and Rising Stars being revealed on Sunday (1 December).
World Athletics

Michael Steele’s image of Tigist Assefa and Sifan Hassan colliding during the women’s marathon at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has been selected as the World Athletics Photograph of the Year

Steele captures World Athletics Photograph of the Year

Renee Washington has been named Woman of the Year as part of the World Athletics Awards 2024.
Washington receives the honour in recognition of the work she has done to promote the advancement of gender equity in athletics, particularly in her role as chief operating officer at USA Track &amp; Field (USATF).
Her achievements include pioneering new USATF initiatives for women and mothers in the sport. With a goal of removing barriers to competition for all athletes, she spearheaded a partnership with period product supplier August to provide menstrual hygiene products for athletes.&nbsp;
Washington has also implemented expanded maternity support for track and field athletes and championed increased benefits including medical expense reimbursements, competitive opportunities support, funding to attend events and coaching stipends.
In her role at USATF, Washington manages the organisation's record $40 million budget and 68-person national staff. Alongside the USATF CEO, she spearheads a mentorship group to support elite athletes for life after their sports careers end, by providing them with the necessary tools to successfully transition info life after sport. She also sits on the board of the Indianapolis Chapter of WISE (Women in Sports and Events) and participates in panel discussion on topics impacting women and young professionals in the workforce.&nbsp;
Under her guidance and leadership at the national governing body, Washington has strived to provide childcare stipends and support at USATF competitions, so women do not need to choose between their family and their career.&nbsp;
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Alongside her work at USATF, Washington has served on various boards and working groups addressing key issues affecting international sport, including the World Athletics Women&rsquo;s Committee and the USOPC Council for Racial and Social Justice. She is a member of the World Athletics Executive Board Remuneration Committee, with gender equity being a primary focus.
Washington has been a guest on the Business Case for Women&rsquo;s Sports podcast to discuss how USATF addresses gender equity and supports female athletes. She also featured in Diverse Representation&rsquo;s National Black Women in Sports Day, which celebrates black women in the sports industry and advocates for greater representation.
&ldquo;I am deeply humbled and incredibly honoured to accept the World Athletics Woman of the Year Award,&rdquo; said Washington. &ldquo;2024 has been an unforgettable year for our sport, filled with groundbreaking achievements and historic moments from the grassroots to the elite level. I am so proud to be acknowledged for the work I get to do each and every day at USA Track &amp; Field.&nbsp;
&ldquo;To me, this award symbolises the power of intentional leadership &ndash; leadership that ensures everyone, regardless of their background or position, is seen, heard, valued and empowered to achieve their full potential. I am so energised by what lies ahead for our sport. Together, we are creating a future where athletics is not only a platform for competition, but a powerful force for representation and inspiration. I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who has supported and championed me throughout this journey.&rdquo;
The Woman of the Year Award is the second honour announced as part of the World Athletics Awards 2024. Further World Athletics Awards announcements will be made this weekend, with the World Athletes of the Year and Rising Stars being revealed on Sunday (1 December).
World Athletics

Renee Washington receives the honour in recognition of the work she has done to promote the advancement of gender equity in athletics, particularly in her role as chief operating officer at USA Track & Field

Washington wins Woman of the Year Award

Trevor Painter has received the Coaching Achievement Award, becoming the first winner to be announced as part of the World Athletics Awards 2024.
The British coach has been guiding athletes for almost a quarter of a century. He has coached more than 30 athletes to international level, including the women&rsquo;s 800m champion at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Keely Hodgkinson.
Painter is the founder and head coach of the M11 Track Club, a professional track &amp; field team based in Manchester, UK, that specialises in the 400m, 800m and 1500m events. The team currently includes 19 international athletes &ndash; eight of those competed at the Paris Games and three won Olympic medals in the French capital.
Following her three successive silver medals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and the past two World Championships, Painter guided Hodgkinson to her first senior global gold as she won the 800m at the Paris Olympics in 1:56.72. She had gone into the race as the favourite to win, having clocked a world-leading British record of 1:54.61 at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in London &ndash; a time that has remained the fastest of the year and moved Hodgkinson to sixth on the world all-time list.
Two places behind Hodgkinson in London was her fellow Painter-coached athlete Georgia Bell, who ran a PB of 1:56.28 &ndash; the fourth-fastest time of the year &ndash; and went on to claim Olympic 1500m bronze in Paris in a British record of 3:52.61. That performance completed a remarkable return for Bell, who made a comeback after quitting athletics in 2017.
Painter&rsquo;s third Olympic medallist in Paris was Lewis Davey, who formed part of GB&rsquo;s bronze medal-winning men&rsquo;s 4x400m team after claiming world silver and bronze relay medals in Budapest in 2023.
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Passionate about the work he undertakes and the mentorship he provides, Painter has also become an ambassador in helping athletes to transition from their own professional careers into coaching. One of Painter&rsquo;s first major successes was coaching his wife Jenny Meadows to world 800m bronze in 2009 and she now works alongside Painter as a coach at the M11 Track Club.
Other athletes and coaches to have been mentored by Painter include Paralympic medallist Graeme Ballard, world relay medallist Kirsten McAslan, nine-time Danish champion Annemarie Nissen, Darren Borthwick, Danny Kevan and Aneta Lemiesz.
The Coaching Achievement Award recognises coaches who have made outstanding achievements and contributions to develop, encourage and strengthen coaching at all levels in athletics.
As well as his work guiding some of the world&rsquo;s best athletes, Painter regularly speaks at conferences and on podcasts, both nationally and internationally. He achieved his MSc in Elite Coaching Practice at the University of Central Lancashire.
&ldquo;2024 has been such a wonderful debut year for M11 Track Club, with many standout performances,&rdquo; said Painter. &ldquo;In Paris, we achieved more than our wildest dreams. Keely finally getting that gold was a wonderful start to the week and then for Georgia Bell to add a bronze in the women&rsquo;s 1500m followed by a men&rsquo;s 4x400m bronze for Lewis Davey, it turned into an incredible week.
&ldquo;I would like to thank everybody at World Athletics for this award. It&rsquo;s a huge honour to join some of the legendary names that have won this in the past. I would also like to thank everyone that has helped behind the scenes with M11 Track Club, none more so than my wife, Jenny Meadows. Hopefully we can continue to build on what the team has already achieved.&rdquo;
The Coaching Achievement Award is the first of the honours celebrated as part of the World Athletics Awards 2024. Further announcements will be made this weekend, with the World Athletes of the Year and Rising Stars being revealed on Sunday (1 December).
World Athletics

Trevor Painter has received the Coaching Achievement Award, becoming the first winner to be announced as part of the World Athletics Awards 2024

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