World Athletics has announced a list of 20 nominees for World Athlete of the Year 2026 — ten men and ten women. Among them, Sweden's Armand Duplantis and Switzerland's Audrey Werro stand out as the leading contenders, whose achievements in the pole vault and the 800 metres set the tone for the season.
The list reflects not merely the statistics of victories, but the depth of athletics' transformation: from Tigst Assefa's marathon records to the sprint doubles of Kenneth Bednarek and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden. Each nominee bears the imprint of their discipline, where tactics, psychology and even geopolitics intertwine into a single fabric.
Duplantis once again broke the world record in the pole vault and dominated at the key meets, including the World Athletics Ultimate Championship. His successes are a reminder of how a single athlete can rewrite the rules of an entire sport, much as a chess player changes the strategy of a whole game with one unexpected move.
Werro, by contrast, conquered the middle distances, winning titles at 800 metres and becoming a prominent figure in the voting. Her rise shows how hidden motives — from personal motivation to federation support — turn potential into real victories when the pressure from the crowd and sponsors intensifies.
The absence of Yaroslava Mahuchikh from the list, despite her triumphs in the high jump, underscores the harshness of the criteria: the votes of athletes, the media and the "World Athletics family" take into account not only records but also influence on the development of the sport. It brings to mind an old saying of one of the peoples of the East: "Not great is he who stands above all, but he who draws others along with him."
The finalists will be announced in November, and the winners — on 29 November in Monaco. This choice already paints a picture of athletics' future, where the balance between spectacle and depth of achievement determines who will become a legend.
