Ethiopia&rsquo;s world 10,000m silver medallist Letesenbet Gidey has been named winner of the International Fair Play Award as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023.
Following nominations from fans, members of the International Fair Play Committee (CIFP) and World Athletics formed a jury to decide on a shortlist of fair play moments. Fans were then asked to vote via World Athletics&rsquo; social media platforms for the moment that they felt best exemplified fair play.
Those social media scores were combined with jury votes to determine three finalists, before Gidey was selected as the winner.
Gidey&rsquo;s fair play moment occurred at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23. After securing silver in the women&rsquo;s 10,000m, Gidey went back to comfort Netherlands&rsquo; Sifan Hassan after Hassan&rsquo;s dramatic fall on the home straight.
Gidey was presented with her award during a virtual meeting with Sunil Sabharwal, CIFP Secretary General and World Athletics Executive Board Member.
&ldquo;I am really honoured and pleased to present you with this year&rsquo;s special fair play trophy,&rdquo; said Sabharwal. &ldquo;Congratulations once again for your wonderful achievements this year, both on the track but also beyond that, helping your fellow athletes.&rdquo;
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&ldquo;When Sifan fell, my heart was broken. I know the feeling of falling,&rdquo; said Gidey. &ldquo;When people are happy, I&rsquo;m happy. I feel sad when they&rsquo;re sad.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I am happy to receive the Fair Play Award 2023. Thank you.&rdquo;
CIFP President Dr Jeno Kamuti said: "This year we have seen and received many fair play acts in the sport of athletics, thanks also to the promotional activities of World Athletics, its leaders and staff. I am convinced that all the fair play nominations deserve the Fair Play Award, as they all made sportsmanship a priority rather than just winning, but we can only have a single winner. For her special act of fair play this year, I would like to congratulate Letesenbet Gidey.&rdquo;
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said: &ldquo;We are proud of our longstanding partnership with the CIFP as well as the number of fair play moments that have come from our sport, from athletes across many different disciplines and from all across the globe.&rdquo;
The CIFP was established 60 years ago to promote the principles of fair play in sport: fair competition, respect, friendship, team spirit, equality and sport without doping. It honours those who respect the written and unwritten rules of sport, which include integrity, solidarity, tolerance, care, excellence and joy, and who set an example for others, on and off the field. The CIFP&rsquo;s first collaboration with World Athletics dates back to the 2003 World Athletics Championships in Paris. Eleven awards have been handed out since then.
World Athletics

After securing silver in the women’s 10,000m in Budapest, Gidey went back to comfort Sifan Hassan after Hassan’s dramatic fall on the home straight

Gidey wins International Fair Play Award

The Abbott World Marathon Majors has been awarded the President&rsquo;s Award as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe recently shared the news with Dawna Stone, CEO of Abbott World Marathon Majors.
The Abbott World Marathon Majors is a series of six of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world: Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York. Not only do they showcase the world&rsquo;s best elite road runners, the series also caters to the masses with each race welcoming thousands of recreational runners every year.
Since 1970, the race directors of these six annual events have pioneered the mass running movement which has now become the No.1 recreational sport in the world. Their investment in anti-doping, sustainability and reviving community-based running coming out of the global pandemic has been inspirational.
&ldquo;I am beyond honoured to accept the World Athletics President&rsquo;s Award on behalf of Abbott World Marathon Majors, our six races and our six board members,&rdquo; said Stone. &ldquo;Thank you to Sebastian Coe and everyone at World Athletics for this prestigious award. We&rsquo;re so delighted to accept it and so grateful for the recognition.&rdquo;
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In announcing the award, Coe outlined the impact the organisation has made on the sport.
&ldquo;The contribution Abbott World Marathon Majors have made to one of our core pillars in the sport, namely participation &ndash; and those numbers are just indelible and frankly outstanding &ndash; have helped to make us the most accessible and most participated sport in the world,&rdquo; said Coe. &ldquo;This is a very modest token of my respect for everything the World Marathon Majors have done.&rdquo;
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, and 1968 men&rsquo;s 200m medallists Tommie Smith, Peter Norman and John Carlos for their iconic moment on the podium in Mexico.
It is the fifth award announced as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023. Other winners already announced include Laurent Meuwly (Coaching Achievement Award), Falilatou Tchanile-Salifou (Woman of the Year), Mattia Ozbot (Photograph of the Year) and Athletics Australia (Member Federation Award). Further announcements will be made in the coming days, with the World Athletes of the Year and Rising Stars being revealed on Monday 11 December.
World Athletics

The Abbott World Marathon Majors is a series of six of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world

Abbott World Marathon Majors wins President's Award

Athletics Australia has been named as winner of the Member Federation&nbsp;Award, the fourth honour announced as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023.
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 Australia was selected as the winner.
&ldquo;I am delighted that Athletics Australia has been selected as Member Federation of the year,&rdquo; said Jan Swinhoe, who became the federation&rsquo;s President in 2021 and ended her nine-year maximum term on the Athletics Australia Board earlier this year. &ldquo;We are so proud, after having the opportunity for the first time ever of hosting the World Cross Country Championships, which we did in February in Bathurst. In addition, we performed very well in Budapest, our best result ever at a World Championships.
&ldquo;But all of this comes off the back of a lot of hard work, which is both within Australia but also in collaboration with a number of our other Member Federations and, of course, with World Athletics.&rdquo;
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Australia started 2023 by hosting the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, claiming a medal in the mixed relay. Oceania&rsquo;s first World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting followed a few days later as the inaugural edition of the Maurie Plant Meeting, formerly the Melbourne Track Classic, took place.
The nation had its best ever World Championships in Budapest, claiming a total of six medals &ndash; one gold, two silver and three bronze &ndash; and finishing joint eighth on the overall placing table. The gold medal was claimed by Nina Kennedy as she cleared a national outdoor record of 4.90m in the pole vault and shared the title with USA&rsquo;s Katie Moon.&nbsp;
A number of other Australian and Oceania records were set throughout the year, including an area 1500m mark of 3:56.92 by Linden Hall and a national discus record of 68.43m by Matt Denny at the Wanda Diamond League Final.
&ldquo;A couple of months ago I was given the honour of becoming the President of Athletics Australia,&rdquo; said Jane Flemming, who succeeded Swinhoe in that role in October. &ldquo;I too want to thank World Athletics for their support, particularly with the World Cross Country Championships. Also, to acknowledge the Maurie Plant Meeting in March, where we had a sell-out crowd. It was a really successful meet.
&ldquo;We have a new junior programme about to be launched and that also has the backing of World Athletics. Thank you so much to World Athletics for your support of athletics here in Australia but also to our neighbours in the Oceania region. We very much appreciate all the support that you give us.&rdquo;
Other winners already announced as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023 include Laurent Meuwly (Coaching Achievement Award), Falilatou Tchanile-Salifou (Woman of the Year) and Mattia Ozbot (Photograph of the Year). Further announcements will be made in the coming days, ahead of the World Athletes of the Year and Rising Stars being revealed on Monday 11 December.
World Athletics

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

Australia wins Member Federation Award

Mattia Ozbot&rsquo;s image of German decathlete Leo Neugebauer competing at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 has been selected as the World Athletics Photograph of the Year.
The third award announced as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023, the World Athletics Photograph of the Year shines a spotlight on some of the outstanding images captured by professional photographers.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/655c96306b41caad899bab12.JPG" alt="Photograph of the Year finalist - Leo Neugebauer in the decathlon pole vault in Budapest" />
Photograph of the Year finalist - Leo Neugebauer in the decathlon pole vault in Budapest (&copy; Mattia Ozbot, World Athletics Photography Workshop)
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From the 134 images that were submitted, a panel of judges &ndash; comprising Valerie Adams, Raquel Cavaco Nunes, Joel Marklund, Pascal Rondeau and Blanka Vlasic &ndash; narrowed the entries to <a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/world-athletics-photograph-year-2023-digital-exhibition">12 shortlisted images</a> and <a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/finalists-2023-photograph-year">three finalists</a> before deciding on the winner.
Ozbot was surprised with the honour during an assignment to photograph trophies for the World Athletics Awards, which ended up including his own.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m extremely surprised,&rdquo; said Ozbot. &ldquo;I knew the photograph was very special. It happened at a unique moment in time, but there were so many other amazing photographs by so many of my great colleagues. I&rsquo;m very surprised and incredibly happy.&rdquo;
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Ozbot&rsquo;s photograph captures Neugebauer in free fall after clearing a bar during the decathlon pole vault at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest.
&ldquo;It was a peculiar moment, because on that day there was also the marathon (taking place) and I decided not to cover the marathon in order to get the chance of an infield bib during the morning session,&rdquo; explained Ozbot. &ldquo;It was the second to last day, and it was my chance to have a little more time on the track, and particularly the infield.
&ldquo;The event was taking place around midday; the sun was high and when I saw the athlete celebrating through my lens, I thought there may be a good photo there. I was also quite lucky because I was there for 15 minutes and it happened right when I was there. So, I&rsquo;m very happy with the photo and with the award.&rdquo;
Ozbot is a freelance photographer based in Milan who specialises in sports photography and has a passion for capturing all the emotions that sport can bring. He attended the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 as part of the <a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/world-athletics-championships-budapest-2023-7138987/news/news/world-athletics-photography-workshop-budapest">inaugural World Athletics Photography Workshop</a>.
Other winners already announced as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023 include Laurent Meuwly (Coaching Achievement Award) and Falilatou Tchanile-Salifou (Woman of the Year). Further announcements will be made in the coming days, ahead of the World Athletes of the Year and Rising Stars being revealed on Monday 11 December.
World Athletics

Mattia Ozbot’s image of Leo Neugebauer competing at the World Championships in Budapest has been selected as the World Athletics Photograph of the Year

Ozbot captures World Athletics Photograph of the Year

Falilatou Tchanile-Salifou has been named Woman of the Year as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023.
Tchanile-Salifou receives the honour in recognition of her dedication to advancing women's rights and fostering gender equality in sport. As President of the Togolese athletics federation, Tchanile-Salifou has demonstrated outstanding leadership and unwavering commitment, with a series of transformative initiatives throughout 2023 that have left a lasting impact on Togo's sports landscape.
Campaigns have included &lsquo;Girls Together for Sport and for Life&rsquo;, which promoted women's participation in sport and raised awareness among girls in the most remote areas of Togo. The &lsquo;Programme for the Promotion of Women's Sport in Togo&rsquo; also featured a women's race, which brought together 1500 participants from across Togo.
Another project celebrated the role models who have overcome obstacles, with parents encouraged to register the births of girls and enrol them in school. For the start of the 2023 school year, this resulted in 90% of girls returning to school, compared to 40% in 2022.
Tchanile-Salifou&rsquo;s commitment to challenging stereotypes and promoting women in leadership roles culminated in the &lsquo;Feminisation of Governing Bodies&rsquo; project. This increased the number of club presidents from five to nine and established four women-led commissions within the Togolese athletics federation, fostering greater gender diversity in decision-making bodies.
Recognising the media's role in promoting gender equality, Tchanile-Salifou also organised five awareness-raising sessions, led by Togolese female athletics champions.
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&ldquo;It is a privilege and an honour for me to have been named World Athletics Woman of the Year for 2023,&rdquo; said Tchanile-Salifou.
&ldquo;It is an honour that I would like to share with all my team; together we have worked with young girls and young women to help them reach more autonomy, more leadership opportunities, more equity and more participation opportunities. This has enabled some of them to free themselves from their precarious situations and given them the opportunity to practice sports.
&ldquo;I would like to thank World Athletics and in particular President Sebastian Coe who, by introducing this award, has helped shine a light on the tireless work by women around the world. I would also like to thank my athletics family and my biological family.
&ldquo;I cannot finish without thanking my country, Togo, and its leader, the President of the State, who by his politics of peace and security has supported the development of our projects across the whole country.&rdquo;
The Woman of the Year Award gives recognition to those that have made an outstanding contribution to promoting the advancement of gender equality in athletics.
It is the second honour announced as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023. On Monday (4), Laurent Meuwly was named winner of the Coaching Achievement Award and further announcements will be made in the coming days, ahead of the World Athletes of the Year and Rising Stars being revealed on Monday 11 December.
World Athletics

Falilatou Tchanile-Salifou receives the honour in recognition of her dedication to advancing women's rights and fostering gender equality in sport

Tchanile-Salifou wins Woman of the Year Award

Laurent Meuwly has received the Coaching Achievement Award and becomes the first winner to be announced as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023.
The Swiss coach has dedicated almost three decades to guiding athletes, having started coaching at the age of just 18. He is now head of sprinting, hurdles and relays in the Netherlands, working with athletes including world 400m hurdles champion Femke Bol.
In 2023, not only did Meuwly help to guide Bol to her world title, but their work saw the Dutch star improve her European record to 51.45 &ndash; the third-fastest performance of all time behind the 50.68 and 51.41 performances achieved by world record-holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in 2022.
Bol also became a world record-holder herself in 2023, clocking 49.26 at the Dutch Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn in February to improve the 41-year-old world indoor 400m record. She ran a world indoor 500m best of 1:05.63 in Boston and ended her indoor campaign by gaining double gold at the European Indoor Championships, winning the 400m and forming part of the victorious national record-breaking 4x400m team alongside Lieke Klaver, Eveline Saalberg and Cathelijn Peeters.
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Under Meuwly&rsquo;s tutelage, Klaver also claimed European indoor 400m silver, while the Dutch men&rsquo;s 4x400m team secured bronze in Istanbul.
As well as Bol&rsquo;s world title win, Meuwly guided that same women&rsquo;s 4x400m quartet to gold and another national record at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23.
Prior to his role with the Dutch athletics federation, Meuwly was head coach for sprinting, hurdles and relays in Switzerland. He continues to work with Swiss sprinter Ajla Del Ponte, the 2021 European indoor 60m champion, while he was also coach to Swiss 400m and 400m hurdles record-holder Lea Sprunger.
Other coaches and athletes to have been mentored by Meuwly include Bram Peters, Jaroslaw Skrzyszowski, Liemarvin Bonevacia, Nick Smidt, Anna Kielbasinska, Pia Skrzyszowska, Viktoriya Tkachuk, Ayomide Folorunso, Viivi Lehikoinen and Tony van Diepen.
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 impact guiding some of the world&rsquo;s best athletes, Meuwly has also published multiple articles and has been a keynote speaker in many coaching events, nationally and internationally.
&ldquo;I feel really honoured to receive this special prize and I dedicate it to all the people who along these 30 years have been working with me, assisting me and supporting me, and also, of course, to all the athletes I have had the chance to work with,&rdquo; said Meuwly, who was presented with his award by Bol during a training camp in South Africa. &ldquo;I hope it is still a good sign to receive it just a year before the Olympics in Paris.&rdquo;
The Coaching Achievement Award is the first of the honours celebrated as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023. Further announcements will be made in the coming days, ahead of the World Athletes of the Year and Rising Stars being revealed on Monday 11 December.
World Athletics

Laurent Meuwly has received the Coaching Achievement Award and becomes the first winner to be announced as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023

Meuwly receives Coaching Achievement Award

Ahead of the World Athletics Awards 2023, a digital exhibition has been created featuring the 12 images shortlisted for World Athletics Photograph of the Year.
From the 134 images that were submitted, a panel of judges &ndash; comprising Valerie Adams, Raquel Cavaco Nunes, Joel Marklund, Pascal Rondeau and Blanka Vlasic &ndash; selected the below 12 shortlisted images and then the three finalists.
The <a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/finalists-2023-photograph-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">finalists were announced on 21 November</a> and the winning photograph will be announced on World Athletics&rsquo; platforms in early December, as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023.
<h2>Digital exhibition of shortlisted images</h2>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/65649827505126c25c3bd143.jpg" alt="David Balogh - 2023 digital exhibition" />
The men's pole vault final during day eight of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 at the National Athletics Centre Photo by David Balogh 
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<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/65649853505126c25c3bd146.jpg" alt="Sam Barnes - 2023 digital exhibition" />
Alexis Holmes of USA, left, on her way to winning the mixed 4x400m as Femke Bol of Netherlands falls at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 Photo by Sam Barnes, Sportsfile 
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<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/65649877505126c25c3bd149.JPG" alt="Fabrizio Bensch - 2023 digital exhibition" />
Sha'Carri Richardson of USA crosses the line to win the women's 100m final at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 Photo by Fabrizio Bensch, Reuters 
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<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6564989f505126c25c3bd14c.JPG" alt="Sandor Csudai - 2023 digital exhibition" />
Noah Lyles of USA celebrates winning the men's 100m final at the National Athletics Centre, Budapest Photo by Sandor Csudai 
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<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/656498c4505126c25c3bd14f.jpg" alt="Anton Geyser - 2023 digital exhibition" />
Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy winning gold in the high jump at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 Photo by Anton Geyser, South African Sports Images 
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<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/656498f0505126c25c3bd152.jpg" alt="Andrej Isakovic - 2023 digital exhibition" />
Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi celebrates winning the men's high jump final during the World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest Photo by Andrej Isakovic, AFP 
&nbsp;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/65649917a3044b51d9376e3b.jpg" alt="Meng Dingbo - 2023 digital exhibition" />
Athletes set off during the women's 100m final of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 Photo by Meng Dingbo, Xinhua News Agency 
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<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/65649936a3044b51d9376e3e.JPG" alt="Mattia Ozbot - 2023 digital exhibition" />
Leo Neugebauer of Germany in the decathlon pole vault at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 Photo by Mattia Ozbot, World Athletics Photography Workshop 
&nbsp;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/65649955a3044b51d9376e41.jpg" alt="Martin Rickett - 2023 digital exhibition" />
Athletes compete in the men's marathon as it passes through Heroes' Square on day nine of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary Photo by Martin Rickett, PA Wire 
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<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/65649970a3044b51d9376e44.JPG" alt="Felix Sanchez - 2023 digital exhibition" />
Five men&rsquo;s 100m finalists prepare for the race with different gestures and in search of the gold medal, with the public watching the action at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest Photo by Felix Sanchez, Corredor 
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<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6564998ba3044b51d9376e47.jpg" alt="Patrick Smith - 2023 digital exhibition" />
Kyle Blignaut of South Africa competes in men's shot put qualification during day one of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 at the National Athletics Centre Photo by Patrick Smith, Getty Images 
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<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/656499b1a3044b51d9376e4a.jpg" alt="Michael Stricker - 2023 digital exhibition" />
Women&rsquo;s high jump winner Nicola Olyslagers of Australia cheers after clearing a world lead and winning jump of 2.02m at the Diamond League, Athletissima, in Lausanne Photo by Michael Stricker 
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A digital exhibition has been created featuring the 12 images shortlisted for World Athletics Photograph of the Year

Digital exhibition: 2023 World Athletics Photograph of the Year shortlisted images

As the World Athletics Awards 2023 draws near, we&rsquo;re shining a spotlight on the 10 finalists &ndash; five men and five women &ndash; for the World Athlete of the Year awards.
Today the focus is on US sprinter&nbsp;Noah Lyles.
&nbsp;
In 2023, Noah Lyles cemented his place as one of the top sprinters of all time.
After winning the 200m at the previous two editions of the World Athletics Championships, the US 26-year-old not only retained his half-lap crown in Budapest but also added 100m and 4x100m titles to his haul, ending the championships as a six-time global gold medallist.
He maintained his position as world 200m leader for the sixth consecutive year and was undefeated in six 200m finals. Further proving his versatility, he also closed the season as the joint world leader in the 100m.
Lyles opened his campaign at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Boston, where he improved his PB to 6.51 to win the 60m final.
Outdoors, Lyles tested his early season form with some races in Florida and he made a statement with a 19.67 200m win at the Racers Grand Prix in Kingston. It was a time that only one other athlete &ndash; double world medallist Letsile Tebogo &ndash; would beat during the rest of the season.
Lyles then won the 100m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Paris and the 200m at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold event in New York, before turning his attention to the US Championships, where he secured his spot to target a sprint double at the World Championships in Budapest by finishing third in the 100m.
The US record-holder improved his 200m world lead at the Diamond League meeting in London, clocking 19.47 for the third-fastest performance of his career in his final race ahead of the World Championships.
Once in Budapest, he first won the 100m in 9.83, a personal best that made him the joint world leader in that discipline. Five days later he completed the double, retaining the 200m crown in 19.52, and just one day after that he became a treble champion, running the anchor leg as USA regained the men&rsquo;s 4x100m title.
He held up three fingers in celebration.
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&ldquo;This is the third gold for me here,&rdquo; Lyles said. &ldquo;It's sensational, amazing. You can't do better. It's out of control.&rdquo;
With his performance in Budapest, Lyles became the first man in seven years to complete the sprint treble at a global championships.
He already knew he had made history after doing the double.
&ldquo;It is a great feeling to know I did something not a lot of people have done,&rdquo; Lyles said after his 200m triumph. &ldquo;In my documentary I talked about wanting it to be done, being different from anybody else, and winning double golds was one of the things on my list. I wanted to show I am different. Today I came out and showed it. I am double champion.&rdquo;
But Lyles didn&rsquo;t stop there. Another sub-20 200m win followed at the Diamond League meeting in Zurich and he closed his campaign with a runner-up finish in the 100m at the Diamond League Final in Eugene, running 9.85.
"Yo I just realized 9.85 is my second fastest time ever in the 100m," he wrote on social media. "Next year going to be scary."
&nbsp;
&bull; The World Athletes of the Year will be announced on World Athletics&rsquo; social media platforms on 11 December as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023 &ndash; and you and a friend can be part of the celebrations.
One lucky person and a companion will win a once-in-a-lifetime VIP trip to Monaco during the annual World Athletics Awards.
The winners of the fan VIP trip will get to spend three nights (9-11 December) in Monaco and meet the best athletes of 2023 in person. Flights, accommodation and evening meals will all be included.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/news/news/win-a-vip-trip-to-monaco?utm_source=Editorial&amp;utm_medium=Web&amp;utm_campaign=VIP-Trip&amp;utm_content=Bannerads" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Enter now</a>

Shining the spotlight on treble world sprint champion Noah Lyles

Focus on finalists: Noah Lyles

As the World Athletics Awards 2023 draws near, we&rsquo;re shining a spotlight on the 10 finalists &ndash; five men and five women &ndash; for the World Athlete of the Year awards.
Today the focus is on&nbsp;Venezuelan triple jumper&nbsp;Yulimar Rojas.
&nbsp;
Yulimar Rojas continued her reign as the queen of the triple jump in 2023. It wasn&rsquo;t all plain sailing for the Venezuelan superstar, but she further proved her class by overcoming a setback on the biggest stage of the year to win her fourth successive world title.
Rojas made her season debut in June, winning in Madrid and then again at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Oslo.
She got gold at the Central American Games in San Salvador, soaring beyond 15 metres for the first time of the year with 15.16m. That was a world lead that she improved to 15.18m when winning at her next competition, the Diamond League meeting in Silesia.
She switched to the long jump in Monaco, leaping 6.61m in the Diamond League event there, and then turned her attention back to the triple jump and the prospect of winning a record fourth world outdoor title in Budapest.
After cruising through qualification, Rojas returned to the runway for the final on 25 August.
The Olympic champion had improved her world record to 15.74m when winning her third world indoor title in Belgrade last year, while her outdoor best is the 15.67m she soared to secure gold at the Games in Tokyo. In Budapest, however, Rojas struggled to find her rhythm and was sitting in eighth place going into the final round.
Her competition to that point had featured three fouls and marks of 14.33m and 14.26m from the second and third rounds, respectively.
But Rojas wasn&rsquo;t defeated.
Taking to the runway for the final time, she engaged the crowd once more and then hopped, stepped and jumped 15.08m &ndash; a performance that put her into the lead by eight centimetres.
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The emotion was clear.
&ldquo;The fact that I won the competition with my last attempt makes it very special and memorable,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;This is my seventh world championship gold in a row (outdoors and indoors), but this is the most special of all of them.
&ldquo;My last attempt was proof of the hard work I have done, my mental state and my self-confidence. I didn't care about the distance, the only thing I had in mind was to win the gold.&rdquo;
With an eighth global gold medal added to her collection, Rojas returned to the Diamond League circuit and jumped 15.15m to win in Zurich.
She then headed to Eugene to defend her Diamond League title and, saving her best for last, she improved her world lead to 15.35m &ndash; just 39cm off her own world record &ndash; to take the trophy for the third consecutive year.
Rojas has now taken her tally of 15-metre-plus performances to 49 and remained unbeaten in finals in her specialism for the second year in a row.
&nbsp;
&bull; The World Athletes of the Year will be announced on World Athletics&rsquo; social media platforms on 11 December as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023 &ndash; and you and a friend can be part of the celebrations.
One lucky person and a companion will win a once-in-a-lifetime VIP trip to Monaco during the annual World Athletics Awards.
The winners of the fan VIP trip will get to spend three nights (9-11 December) in Monaco and meet the best athletes of 2023 in person. Flights, accommodation and evening meals will all be included.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/news/news/win-a-vip-trip-to-monaco?utm_source=Editorial&amp;utm_medium=Web&amp;utm_campaign=VIP-Trip&amp;utm_content=Bannerads" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Enter now</a>

Shining the spotlight on world triple jump champion Yulimar Rojas

Focus on finalists: Yulimar Rojas

As the World Athletics Awards 2023 draws near, we&rsquo;re shining a spotlight on the 10 finalists &ndash; five men and five women &ndash; for the World Athlete of the Year awards.
Today the focus is on Kenyan marathon runner Kelvin Kiptum.
&nbsp;
This time last year, Kelvin Kiptum was a couple of weeks away from making his marathon debut. He has since achieved three of the six fastest times in history, capped by the remarkable world record of 2:00:35 he set when winning the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on 8 October.
It was in Valencia last December that Kiptum&rsquo;s marathon journey began. There, the Kenyan distance running star &ndash; who turned 23 two days before that race &ndash; ran 2:01:53 for the fastest ever marathon debut and a mark that placed him third on the world all-time list behind only his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Kenenisa Bekele.
It set the tone for an incredible year ahead.
Kiptum returned to training, with the TCS London Marathon his next target. Lining up for the second marathon &ndash; and the second World Athletics Platinum Label road race &ndash; of his career on 23 April, he was just a couple of hours away from making history again.
While he later explained that the world record had not been on his mind, he was clearly a man on a mission and he ended up winning in a course record of 2:01:25 &ndash; a performance that elevated him another place on the world all-time list, to second behind the world record of 2:01:09 set by Kipchoge in Berlin in September 2022.
Kiptum&rsquo;s run included a 5km split of 13:49 between 30km and 35km and a 4:23 24th mile, helping him to win the race by almost three minutes and miss Kipchoge&rsquo;s world record by just 16 seconds.
&ldquo;My plan was to run maybe 2:03 or 2:02, but I was not thinking about the world record,&rdquo; Kiptum said later. &ldquo;I was just focused on running a good time. I&rsquo;ll go back home, have a little rest and talk with my team. Maybe then we will think of the world record.&rdquo;
Those thoughts turned into reality in Chicago.
After passing half way in 1:00:48, Kiptum ran another blistering 30-35km split of 13:51 and was on sub-2:01 pace. He picked up the tempo yet again and reached the finish line in 2:00:35, becoming the first athlete to break 2:01 in a record-eligible marathon and securing his second major marathon win of the year.
He won the race by almost three and a half minutes. The result was an improvement of 50 seconds on Kiptum&rsquo;s&nbsp;previous best and it took 34 seconds off Kipchoge&rsquo;s world record.
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&ldquo;I knew I was coming for a course record, but a world record &ndash; I am so happy,&rdquo; he said.
Could there be more in store? Kiptum has already voiced his intention to attack his record &ndash; and the two-hour barrier &ndash; at the NN Rotterdam Marathon in April.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll try at least to beat my world record here,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I know I&rsquo;m capable of doing that, if my preparation works out well and the conditions are OK. And in that case, I will get close to the two-hour barrier, so why not aim to break it?
&ldquo;That might look ambitious, but I&rsquo;m not afraid of setting this kind of goals. There&rsquo;s no limit to human energy.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
&bull; The World Athletes of the Year will be announced on World Athletics&rsquo; social media platforms on 11 December as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023 &ndash; and you and a friend can be part of the celebrations.
One lucky person and a companion will win a once-in-a-lifetime VIP trip to Monaco during the annual World Athletics Awards.
The winners of the fan VIP trip will get to spend three nights (9-11 December) in Monaco and meet the best athletes of 2023 in person. Flights, accommodation and evening meals will all be included.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/news/news/win-a-vip-trip-to-monaco?utm_source=Editorial&amp;utm_medium=Web&amp;utm_campaign=VIP-Trip&amp;utm_content=Bannerads" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Enter now</a>

Shining the spotlight on world marathon record-holder Kelvin Kiptum

Focus on finalists: Kelvin Kiptum

As the World Athletics Awards 2023 draws near, we&rsquo;re shining a spotlight on the 10 finalists &ndash; five men and five women &ndash; for the World Athlete of the Year awards.
Today the focus is on Kenyan middle-distance runner Faith Kipyegon.
&nbsp;
Faith Kipyegon started 2023 as one of the most decorated middle-distance runners in history.
She ended the year with even more global gold &ndash; and a clutch of world records to her name.
The first race of her season gave a glimpse as to what was to come. Competing at the Sirikwa Cross Country in Eldoret, Kipyegon won the women&rsquo;s 10km event by more than a minute, beating some of Kenya&rsquo;s leading distance runners. It was clear that she&rsquo;d been working on her strength in the off season.
She opened her track campaign three months later with a comfortable 3:58.57 victory over 1500m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Doha. That was merely a warm-up of what was to come one month later.
She lined up for the 1500m at the Diamond League meeting in Florence with the intention of breaking the world 1500m record of 3:50.07, having got within 0.30 of the mark last year. This time she stayed level with &ndash; and then ahead of &ndash; the wavelights that circled the inside of the track. Tearing away from the rest of the field, Kipyegon won in 3:49.11 to take almost a full second off the world record, winning the race by the staggering margin of eight seconds.
Having finally achieved one of her big career goals at 1500m, Kipyegon set her sights on a new challenge: the 5000m.
Despite having completed just two races at that distance before, both of them back in 2015, Kipyegon took on some of the world&rsquo;s best at the Diamond League meeting in Paris. She wasn&rsquo;t on world record pace until the final couple of laps.
With a final kilometre of 2:43.2, Kipyegon charged through the finish line in 14:05.20, taking 1.42 seconds off the previous world record and finishing two seconds ahead of Letesenbet Gidey, the now former world record-holder.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think about the world record, I don&rsquo;t know how I made it,&rdquo; said a delighted and surprised Kipyegon. &ldquo;I just focused on the green light and tried to stay relaxed and enjoy the race. When I saw that it was a world record, I was so surprised.&rdquo;
After winning the 5000m at Kenya&rsquo;s World Trials, clocking 14:53.90 at altitude in Nairobi, Kipyegon returned to the Diamond League circuit for an attack on another world record, this time taking on the mile in Monaco.
In a stunning run, where she passed through the 1500m point in 3:51.41, Kipyegon crushed the world record by five seconds, clocking 4:07.64. Numerous national and area records were broken by the rest of the field, but even they were way behind the outstanding Kenyan.
Kipyegon then took a break from competition for a month as she geared up for the World Championships in Budapest, where she was taking on the 1500m and 5000m double.
The shorter event &ndash; a distance at which she already owned four global titles &ndash; was up first. After navigating her way through the rounds with ease, she dominated the final and won in 3:54.87.
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She had no time to rest, though, as her 5000m heat took place the very next day. She qualified comfortably, then returned to the track for the final three days later. Up against Olympic champion Sifan Hassan and world 10,000m champion Gudaf Tsegay, Kipyegon once again rose to the top and took the title in 14:53.88.
&ldquo;This has been an amazing year for me,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Making history, winning two gold medals in a championship, is what I was dreaming for this season. I have been patient, waiting to be able to break world records and win double golds. But my dream just came true, it is amazing.&rdquo;
After being undefeated in all finals during the track season, Kipyegon turned her focus to the roads towards the end of the year and added another global medal to her collection, taking bronze in the mile at the World Athletics Road Running Championships Riga 23.
&nbsp;
&bull; The World Athletes of the Year will be announced on World Athletics&rsquo; social media platforms on 11 December as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023 &ndash; and you and a friend can be part of the celebrations.
One lucky person and a companion will win a once-in-a-lifetime VIP trip to Monaco during the annual World Athletics Awards.
The winners of the fan VIP trip will get to spend three nights (9-11 December) in Monaco and meet the best athletes of 2023 in person. Flights, accommodation and evening meals will all be included.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/news/news/win-a-vip-trip-to-monaco?utm_source=Editorial&amp;utm_medium=Web&amp;utm_campaign=VIP-Trip&amp;utm_content=Bannerads" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Enter now</a>

Shining the spotlight on world 1500m and 5000m champion Faith Kipyegon

Focus on finalists: Faith Kipyegon

The three finalists for the Photograph of the Year award have been selected, with less than a month to go until the World Athletics Awards 2023.
From the 134 images that were submitted, a panel of judges &ndash; comprising Valerie Adams, Raquel Cavaco Nunes, Joel Marklund, Pascal Rondeau and Blanka Vlasic &ndash; narrowed the entries to 10 shortlisted images before deciding on the three finalists.
Photographers from 47 countries across all six continental areas submitted entries.
The shortlisted images will form part of a digital exhibition on the World Athletics website that will go live later this month.
The winning photograph will be announced on World Athletics&rsquo; platforms in early December, as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023.
<h2>The finalists</h2>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/655c94396b41caad899bab0c.jpg" alt="Photograph of the Year finalist - Alexis Holmes and Femke Bol in the mixed 4x400m in Budapest" />
Alexis Holmes of USA, left, on her way to winning the mixed 4x400m as Femke Bol of Netherlands falls at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 (&copy; Sam Barnes / Sportsfile) 
</div>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/655c94836b41caad899bab0f.jpg" alt="Photograph of the Year finalist - Gianmarco Tamberi celebrates his high jump victory in Budapest" />
Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy winning gold in the high jump at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 (&copy; Anton Geyser, South African Sports Images) 
</div>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/655c96306b41caad899bab12.JPG" alt="Photograph of the Year finalist - Leo Neugebauer in the decathlon pole vault in Budapest" />
Leo Neugebauer of Germany in the decathlon pole vault at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 (&copy; Mattia Ozbot, World Athletics Photography Workshop)
</div>
&nbsp;
<h2>About the photographers</h2>
Sam Barnes An award-winning sports photographer currently based in Dublin, Ireland, working as full-time staff for Irish agency Sportsfile. Originally from Reading, UK, Barnes has been based in Dublin for almost 10 years and has covered a broad range of sporting events including multiple World and European Athletics Championships, and the Tokyo Paralympic Games. His work was also shortlisted for the Photograph of the Year award in 2022.
Anton Geyser A passionate and dedicated sports photographer, Geyser has covered a wide range of events, from grassroots competitions to international championships, and has contributed work to renowned sports publications and websites. Committed to mentoring aspiring sports photographers, he also often uses his photography to support charitable causes related to sports and youth development.
Mattia Ozbot A freelance photographer based in Milan, Ozbot specialises in sports photography and has a passion for capturing all the emotions sports can bring. In 2023 he was selected for the inaugural World Athletics Photography Workshop, held during the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23.
World Athletics

From 134 images that were submitted, the three finalists for the Photograph of the Year award have been selected

Cherotich – the "small Faith" inspired to rising heights by Kipyegon

New fire ignited, Lyles eyes Olympic quadruple in Paris

Patience and keeping faith pays off for award-winner Kipyegon

Award-winner Kiptum reflects on a fast-forward year of marathon running

Six stars named World Athletes of the Year in Monaco