Emmanuel Kiprono, World Athletics Rising Star 2026 finalist

World Athletics has announced Emmanuel Kiprono (Kenya), Cooper Lutkenhaus (United States) and Tate Taylor (United States) as the three finalists for the 2026 Men’s Rising Star award, which recognises the best under-20 athlete of the year and will be presented in Monaco on 29 November. Emmanuel Kiprono’s Rising Star candidacy rests on his world U20 3,000 m gold.

The Monaco gala and how the winner will be announced

The winner’s name will be revealed live on stage at the World Athletics Awards, so the result is not yet known. The same gala will present the Female and Male World Athlete of the Year awards, the Coach of the Year, the President’s Award and the Moment of the Year.

According to the international federation’s statement:

“The nominations reflect some of the most outstanding under-20 performances of the year at World Athletics Series events, regional championships and one-day meetings around the world.”

Kiprono’s world U20 gold in Eugene

Kiprono became world U20 3,000 m champion with a championship record. The final took place on Friday 7 August at Hayward Field in Eugene, as part of a World Championships held from 5 to 9 August. The Kenyan, a student at St. Francis Kimuron Boys High School, won by more than 19 seconds over France’s Alois Abraham, almost half a lap of the track.

Abraham took silver in 7:47.79 and Japan’s Ojiro Honda bronze in 7:48.49. Kiprono went through the first 1,000 m in 2:26.52, 1,600 m in 3:54.58 and 2,000 m in 4:55.43.

From the Tallahassee cross country to the Kenyan trials

Before his track title, Kiprono had already been world U20 cross country runner-up. It happened in Tallahassee (Florida) on 10 January, where he crossed the line in second place in 23:20 over 8 km. His compatriot Frankline Kibet won in 23:18 and Andrew Alamisi took bronze in 23:28, giving Kenya a clean sweep of the podium.

In May, at the Nyayo Stadium, the Kenyan trials for the World U20 Championships had already given him victory in the 3,000 m with 7:35.4, ahead of Edwin Elkana (7:59.6) and Enock Tuitoek (8:01.0).

Cooper Lutkenhaus, the youngest world champion in history

Lutkenhaus, aged 17, is the world indoor 800 m champion and the youngest world champion in athletics history. He won the title in Kujawy Pomorze (Poland) on 22 March in 1:44.24.

He has won two Diamond League events. He made his debut in Stockholm on 7 June with a win in 1:42.70, ahead of Marco Arop (1:43.11) and Slimane Moula (1:43.41). Three days later, in Oslo, he beat Emmanuel Wanyonyi, the Olympic and world champion, by 0.01 seconds and lowered his personal best to 1:42.08.

Tate Taylor: world U20 treble and 19.75 at the Prefontaine

Taylor is the world U20 champion over 100 m, 200 m and 4×100 m. In Eugene he won the 100 m in 9.94, a personal best, and the 200 m in 19.83. He closed the championships with gold in the United States 4×100 m relay, in a world U20 record of 38.16.

On 4 July, also in Eugene, he won the 200 m at the Prefontaine Classic with a personal best of 19.75, ahead of Letsile Tebogo (19.93) and Makanakaishe Charamba (20.11).

Sawe, the other Kenyan in the men’s awards

Kenya has another nominee at the gala: Sabastian Sawe, a finalist for Male World Athlete of the Year alongside Brazil’s Alison dos Santos and Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis. Sawe won the London Marathon on 26 April in a world record of 1:59:30, the first ratified marathon under two hours. He broke the previous mark of 2:00:35, set by Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023.