World Athletics has named three finalists for the title of best track and field athlete of 2026: Brazil's Alison dos Santos, Sweden's Mondo Duplantis and Kenya's Sabastian Sawe. The winner will be announced on 29 November in Monaco after voting by fans, athletes, journalists and the federation's "family". Behind the dry names and figures lies not merely a season of records, but three different ways of rewriting the history of the sport.
Dos Santos had a season in which he lost none of his eleven races over 400 metres hurdles. In Zurich he set a world record — 45,80 seconds — and at the Ultimate Championship he ran 45,98, the third-fastest result in history. His dominance resembles a chess game in which every opponent's move is predicted in advance: technique, tactics and psychology work as a single mechanism. In a world where hurdles often symbolise obstacles, the Brazilian turned them into a springboard.
Duplantis, the reigning winner of the 2025 award, once again raised the bar — literally. The pole vault record now stands at 6,31 metres, plus titles at the Ultimate, indoors and at the European Championships. The Swede is nominated for the top prize for the third time and is closing in on Usain Bolt's record for the number of victories. His career is an example of how a single discipline can become synonymous with constant progress: every new centimetre demands not only physics but also an engineering approach to the body and the equipment.
Sawe wrote his name into marathon history: in London he ran 1:59:30 — the first officially recognised result under two hours. This is not just a figure but a paradigm shift: the marathon is turning from an ultra-endurance test into a zone where the limits of the human body are redefined anew. The Kenyan, like his predecessors, proves that long-term work on endurance and race tactics yields a result that once seemed fantastical.
The choice of finalists shows how much track and field today depends on different types of achievement: hurdling technique, a technical jump and pure endurance. Each of them reflects a separate aspect of the sport's evolution — from individual genius to collective progress in preparation. The voting involves not only experts but also a broad audience, which makes the award a reflection not only of results but also of public perception.
On 29 November in Monaco it will become clear whose season of 2026 will be remembered most strongly. For now, one thing is clear: track and field continues to push boundaries, and these three are vivid proof of that.
