Sawe makes final three for World Athlete of the Year Award

Sawe's nomination follows an extraordinary performance at the London Marathon in April, where he clocked 1:59:30 to become the first man to break the sub two-hour barrier in the 42km race. 

The 31-year-old defended his title in style, shaving 65 seconds off the previous record of 2:00:35 set by his Kenyan compatriot Kelvin Kiptum in 2023.

Sawe will now battle for the prestigious prize with Swedish pole vault record holder Mondo Duplantis and 400m hurdles record holder Alison dos Santos from Brazil.

Duplantis had a remarkable season, improving his world pole vault record to 6.31m for the 15th time in his career at his home meeting, the Mondo Classic in Uppsala, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting capped by World Ultimate, world indoor and European titles.

Dos Santos on the other hand destroyed the 400m hurdles field in August during the Zurich Diamond League Meeting, setting a world record of 45.80. He also won the Ultimate title in 45.98, the third-fastest time in history.

The top three were selected from an initial list of 10 nominees through a combined vote of fans, athletes, media and the World Athletics Family.

The three beat 1500 m world record holder Josh Kerr, 110m hurdles world record holder Ja'Kobe Tharp, World Ultimate championship 100m and 200m champion Kenny Bednarek, World Ultimate championship 400m winner Collen Busang Kebinatshipi, Commonwealth Javelin winner Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, European Athletics championship triple jump winner Andy Díaz Hernández and European men's discus winner Kristjan Čeh.

Sawe will look to win the overall inaugural title after previously winning the Men's Out of Stadium Athlete of the Year award last year.

The winner will be announced at the World Athletics Awards ceremony on November 29, 2026 in Monaco.