Wanyonyi’s BIG 2025 World Athletics Award, 2 Other Kenyans Recognised
Following outstanding performances throughout their 2025 campaigns, Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Sebastian Sawe, and Edmund Serem received global recognition at the World Athletics Awards on Sunday evening in Monaco.
World 800m winner Wanyonyi was named Male Track Athlete of the Year, while Berlin Marathon champion Sebastian Sawe won the Male Out of Stadium Award.
On the same occasion, Serem received the Male Rising Star Award.
2025 World Athletics Award winners 🏆👇
— Owen (@_OwenM_) November 30, 2025
World Athlete of the Year
🚹 Mondo Duplantis 🇸🇪
🚺 Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone 🇺🇸
Track Athlete
🚹 Emmanuel Wanyonyi 🇰🇪
🚺 Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone 🇺🇸
Field Athlete
🚹 Mondo Duplantis 🇸🇪
🚺 Nicola Olyslagers 🇦🇺
Out of Stadium
🚹…
Wanyonyi won Male Track Athlete of the Year, defeating American sprinter Noah Lyles, the 200m world champion, as a fitting reward for his dominant 2025 campaign.
At the Tokyo World Championships, the 20-year-old phenom won his first global gold in 1:41.86, establishing himself as the world’s leading two-lap specialist.
World Athletics Awards – Winners
— Carol Radull (@CarolRadull) December 1, 2025
• Male Track Athlete of the Year: Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi 🇰🇪
• Female Track Athlete of the Year: USA’s Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone 🇺🇸
• Male Out of Stadium Athlete of the Year: Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe 🇰🇪
• Female Out of Stadium Athlete of… pic.twitter.com/a2TyUXz38H
He was as merciless on the Diamond League circuit, winning in Oslo (1:42.78), Stockholm (1:41.95), Monaco (1:41.44), and London (1:42.00) before clinching the season-ending title in Zurich (1:42.37).
In 2025, his Monaco-winning time (1:41.44) remains the world’s fastest.
Sawe, a marathon powerhouse, won the Male Out of Stadium Athlete of the Year award, beating Tanzania’s global marathon winner Alphonce Simbu.
Sawe has been in imperious form all year, with a flawless record in both marathons he ran.
He made a strong debut at the London Marathon on April 27, clocking 2:02:27 to dispatch Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo (2:03:37) and Kenya’s Alexander Munyao (2:04:20).
Emmanuel Wanyonyi 🇰🇪 beats Noah Lyles 🇺🇸 to win the World Athletics Male Track Athlete of the Year Award!
— Track & Field Gazette (@TrackGazette) November 30, 2025
His 2025 season:
– World 800m Champion 🥇
– Set 800m Championship Record
– 800m Diamond League Champion
– 800m World Leader (1:41.44) pic.twitter.com/oqecf4cTVB
In September, he delivered another masterclass at the Berlin Marathon, storming to victory in 2:02:16, well clear of Japan’s Akira Akasaki (2:06:15) and Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele (2:06:57).
In the Rising Star Award, steeplechase prodigy Edmund Serem outshone compatriot Phanuel Koech, the world U-20 1,500m record holder and Ethiopia’s Biniam Mehary, the U-20 3000m short-track record holder.
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Serem has swiftly emerged as one of Kenya’s most exciting talents in the water-and-barrier discipline.
The 2025 season marked his maiden campaign on the Diamond League stage, opening in Xiamen with 8:08.50 for fourth place.
He followed it up with appearances in Shanghai (second place – 8:08.68), Rabat (third place – 8:07.47) and Monaco (third place – 8:04.00).
At the Zurich Diamond League Final, he clocked 8:09.96 to settle for second place before capping his breakthrough year in Tokyo, where he clinched his first senior global medal, bronze in 8:34.56.
Wanyonyi’s BIG 2025 World Athletics Award, 2 Other Kenyans Recognised
