Nairobi — Kenya’s Benson Kipruto has been nominated for World Athletics Out of Stadium Male Athlete of the Yr award.
The Tokyo Marathon champion will contest the award with 4 different highway runners together with Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, Ecuadorian Brian Pintado and the Ethiopian pair of Yomilf Kejelcha and Tamirat Tola.
Kipruto has over time established himself as top-of-the-line marathoners on the earth with constant podium finishes in main races.
He clinched the 2021 Boston Marathon in 2:09:51, following on from his earlier victory on the Prague Marathon the place he clocked 2:10:16 in Could of the identical 12 months.
Though he relinquished his Boston the next 12 months — having clocked 2:07:27 to complete third — the 33-year-old triumphed on the Chicago Marathon in 2:04:24.
Final 12 months, Kipruto completed third as soon as once more in Boston (2:06:06) and second in Chicago, though he lowered his time to 2:04:02.
His mild continued to shine brighter in 2024 when he set a course file of two:02:16 to win the Tokyo Marathon in March.
An Olympic debut on the summer time video games in Paris quickly adopted and Kipruto topped his season with bronze after clocking 2:07:00 to complete third.
Tola standing tall
Standing between Kipruto and the award can be Tola whose medal assortment contains gold and silver on the 2022 and 2017 World Championships in Eugene and London respectively.
After a largely quiet 2024, the Ethiopian burst to life on the Paris Olympics the place he stormed to marathon gold in 2:06:26.
Tola had been added to his nation’s workforce as a result of a last-minute harm to Sisay Lemma.
The 33-year-old additionally gained final 12 months’s New York Marathon in a course file of two:04:58.
His fellow countryman, Kejelcha, can be hoping that his newly-set half marathon world file has completed sufficient to sway the votes in his favour.
The 27-year-old clocked 57:30 on his approach to victory on the Valencia Half Marathon on October 27 — shaving one second off the earlier file by Kiplimo.
It was an apt manner for Kejelcha to bounce again after leaving the Paris Olympics empty-handed — with solely a fifth-place end within the males’s 10,000m to point out for.
An important of the sport
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A disappointing Paris Olympics however, Ugandan Kiplimo has completed greater than sufficient to warrant the ‘GOAT’ tag so far as highway operating is worried.
The 23-year-old transcends the boundaries of athletics — cross nation, monitor and highway operating — as exhibited when he efficiently defended his cross nation title on the international competitors in Belgrade, Serbia.
Having completed a disappointing eighth within the males’s 10,000m on the Paris Olympics, Kiplimo redeemed himself with second place on the Copenhagen Half Marathon after clocking 58:09.
With a crowded trophy cupboard that features 4 world cross nation titles, two Commonwealth Video games title, and one world half marathon crown, it will be delusional to rule out extra victories from Kiplimo.
In the meantime, Pintado reached the top of his journey as a racewalker, profitable gold within the 20km racewalk in Paris earlier than topping it off with silver within the marathon race stroll combined relay.
It was the third Olympics for the World silver medalist who completed thirty seventh at his debut in Rio de Janeiro earlier than coming twelfth in Tokyo 2020.
Voting ends on November 3, forward of an awards gala in Monaco on December 1 to announce the winner.