Monaco, October 7, 2026: Two Asian athletes are among the 20 athletes who have been nominated for World Athlete of the Year, World Athletics announced on October 6.
China’s Yan Ziyi (javelin) has been nominated in the Female Athlete of the Year category and Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage (javelin) is one of 10 nominees for the Male award.
Yan threw 71.74m on her season opener, an Asian and world U20 record that puts her second on the world javelin all-time list. She also won Diamond League and Asian Games titles.
Rumesh Tharanga, a former fast bowler who has found fame in javelin, won Ultimate, Diamond League, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games javelin titles. He set a world-leading national record of 92.62m and won 13 of his 14 competitions.
The World Athletics Awards will take place in Monaco on November 29.
The nominees – selected by an international panel of athletics experts – include 10 for Women’s World Athlete of the Year and 10 for Men’s World Athlete of the Year.
In what has been another sensational year for the sport, the nominations reflect some of the standout performances achieved at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship and World Athletics Series events held throughout the year, as well as during various one-day meeting circuits, Label road races and other events around the world.
An eight-strong panel of statisticians – two members from World Athletics and one from each of the six area associations – selected the nominees. A four-way vote, which closes on October 17, will now determine their final ranking, from first to 10th.
Each of the four voting groups will contribute 25% of the final vote:
• World Athletics fans voting by survey
• Athletes who have competed at World Athletics Series events during 2026
• Members of the media including TV and radio commentators, written press journalists and content creators who have been accredited at World Athletics Series events in 2026
• World Athletics Family including Council members; commission members; athlete representatives; World Athletics Series event local organising committee chairs; Diamond League, World Indoor Tour Gold and Continental Tour Gold meeting directors; member federation presidents; official partners; and World Athletics staff
The six finalists – three for the women’s World Athlete of the Year award and three for the men’s – will be announced on November 10 and 11 and be invited to Monaco for the World Athletics Awards on November 29, when each winner will be announced live on stage.
Other awards presented on stage will include the men’s and women’s Rising Star honours, Coach of the Year, the President’s Award and, for the first time, the Moment of the Year award.