Botswana, Kerr and Sawe vie for first Moment of the Year

Botswana’s victory in the men’s 4×400 metres relay and the world records set by Josh Kerr in the mile and Sabastian Sawe in the marathon are the three finalists for the first World Athletics Moment of the Year award. The winner will be announced live on Sunday 29 November in Monaco.

Fans selected the finalist moments through the official World Athletics app in a vote that closed on 26 October. They chose from 18 nominations for events during the season.

Botswana wins men’s relay on home soil

Botswana’s victory at the World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, held in May, was one of the moments selected. The team won the men’s 4×400 in front of its home crowd in 2:54,47, setting both a championship record and a national record.

Collen Kebinatshipi, the world 400 metres champion, ran the final leg of Botswana’s relay.

Josh Kerr lowers mile world record

Josh Kerr set the mile world record with 3:42,66 on 18 July at the London Diamond League meeting. The Briton ran at the London Stadium in front of around 60,000 spectators and became the first athlete to break 3:43 over the distance.

The previous record belonged to Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj, who had run 3:43,13 in Rome in 1999. Kerr improved it by 47 hundredths of a second, after it had stood for 27 years.

The race was part of Project 222, named after the 222 seconds Kerr aimed to take to complete the mile. The Briton ultimately finished in 222,66 seconds.

Sabastian Sawe breaks the two-hour barrier

Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe won the London Marathon on 26 April in 1:59:30, a world record and the first men’s time under two hours in a record-eligible marathon.

Sawe improved by 65 seconds on the 2:00:35 recorded by the late Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023. In 2019, Eliud Kipchoge completed the distance in 1:59:40 at a special event, but the conditions and assistance used meant that time could not be ratified as a world record.

Choosing the winner in Monaco

The award recognises the most memorable event of the season, with the possibility of honouring a moment that goes beyond an individual performance. Once fans have chosen the finalists, a World Athletics expert panel selects the winner.

The ceremony will take place as part of the World Athletics Awards. The men’s and women’s World Athlete of the Year and Rising Star awards will also be presented, along with the Coach of the Year and President’s awards.