Six Africans nominated for IAAF athlete of the year award

Three men and three women from Africa have made the cut for the annual IAAF athlete of the year award.

The global athletic body shortlists 10 athletes from both genders in contention for the ultimate prize.

The male and female World Athletes of the Year will be announced on 24 November.

South Africa’s 400m world record holder Wayde van Niekerk and Kenya’s Hellen Obiri, who’s the world champion in the women’s 5,000m, are among those nominated.

Also in the running are:

Luvo Manyonga (South Africa)
Elijah Manangoi (Kenya)
Almaz Ayana (Ethiopia)
Caster Semenya (South Africa)

In a statement, it was said that people can vote for the athletes on Facebook and Twitter:

The Council and the Family of the IAAF will cast their votes by email, while fans can vote online via their social media platforms. Individual graphics for each nominee will be posted on Facebook and Twitter later this week; a ‘like’ or ‘favourite’ will count as one vote.”

It added that the IAAF council’s vote will count for 50% of the result, while the IAAF Family’s votes and the public votes will each count for 25% of the final result.

Voting closes on 16 October.

The IAAF will then announce three men and three women as finalists.