Angry Fans React Following World Athletics Decision to Omit Faith Kipyegon, Beatrice Chebet From Final Awards List

World Athletics made the shock decision to snub both Beatrice Chebet and Faith Kipyegon from the final 2025 awards list, which has sparked plenty of outrage among interested observers.

World Athletics is facing a storm of criticism after Kenyan distance running stars Beatrice Chebet and Faith Kipyegon were left off the final list for the Women's Track Athlete of the Year award.

The announcement on Tuesday, which named American 400m and 4x400m champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Dutch 400m hurdles champion Femke Bol as the two finalists, sparked immediate condemnation across social media platforms.

Many fans and pundits argued that Chebet, in particular, was a more deserving candidate. Her phenomenal season included breaking the 5,000m world record with a historic sub-14-minute time of 13:58.06 at the Prefontaine Classic. She also secured a remarkable 5,000m and 10,000m double gold at the World Championships in Tokyo, repeating her feat from the 2024 Paris Olympics.

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American sprinter Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who won three world titles in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay, was also seen by many as a glaring omission from the final two.

The selection process involved a three-way vote. The World Athletics Council's vote held a 50% weight, while votes from the World Athletics Family and a public social media poll each contributed 25%.

The decision drew sharp rebukes from the athletics community. Former American distance runner Jonathan Gault called the outcome "legitimately insane" on X (formerly Twitter), stating, "With all due respect, Femke Bol being a finalist for Female Track Athlete of the Year over Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Beatrice Chebet is legitimately insane."

Prominent running website LetsRun.com echoed the sentiment, questioning the award's credibility. "In what world was Bol’s season better than Beatrice Chebet’s? Bol didn’t even have a personal record. Chebet set a historic sub-14 world record and won two golds. Disgraceful," the site posted.

Fans also voiced their frustration, with one user, Pablo Asunga Escobar, asking, "She broke the records and won everything on her way. What else could she have done?"

While the track category caused an uproar, several other Kenyan athletes were successfully named as finalists. Emmanuel Wanyonyi, the Olympic and world 800m champion, will contend with American sprinter Noah Lyles for the Men's Track Athlete of the Year award.

In the "Out of Stadium" categories, newly-crowned World Marathon Majors champion Sabastian Sawe is a finalist for the men's award, while world marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir is in the running for the women's prize.

The winners for all categories will be announced at the World Athletics Awards ceremony in Monaco on November 30.

World Athletics is under scrutiny after announcing the finalists for the Female Track Athlete of the Year award, with fans and athletes questioning the omission of several record-breaking African stars.

The exclusion of Kenyan powerhouses Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet, along with Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay, has sparked widespread criticism online. Many argue that their historic seasons, which included multiple world records and titles, made them more deserving candidates than some of the selected finalists, such as Dutch hurdler Femke Bol.

Social media users voiced their disbelief. "Not to disrespect Femke but to put her over Melissa [Gudaf Tsegay], Chebet, or Faith seems outrageous," noted one user, @ClaypoolCoaches. "Melissa had one of the best seasons in history. Chebet and Faith both [set] World Records."

Another user, Kieran (@carebearkieran), directly challenged the decision, asking, "In what world is Femke Bol a finalist over Faith, Chebet, and Melissa? There’s nothing that Femke did on that track more impressive than what those three women have done this season."

Will Wanjala expressed similar sentiments on X (formerly Twitter): "It’s disappointing to see incredible African athletes such as Kipyegon and Chebet, who have consistently delivered world-class performances, being left out of the finalists for Female Track Athlete of the Year."

A History of Controversial Decisions

This is not the first time the sport's governing body has faced criticism over its awards. In 2011, Kenya’s Vivian Cheruiyot was widely expected to win the top honor after securing both the 5,000m and 10,000m world titles, but the award went to Australian hurdler Sally Pearson.

More recently, the 2023 awards ceremony caused a stir when World Athletics unexpectedly split the main award into three new categories—Track, Field, and Out of Stadia—on the day of the event.

The move was seen by many as a way to avoid crowning Kipyegon the overall best female athlete despite her phenomenal season. Kipyegon was named Female Track Athlete of the Year, while the late Kelvin Kiptum won the men's Out of Stadia award.

The decision drew criticism from top athletes, including Kipyegon and American sprinter Noah Lyles, who won the men's track award.

In 2024, World Athletics reinstated the overall Male and Female Athlete of the Year awards, which were won by Letsile Tebogo of Botswana and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands. However, this too was met with debate, as many believed Beatrice Chebet's season—highlighted by a 10,000m world record and Olympic gold medals in both the 5,000m and 10,000m—was superior to Hassan's Olympic marathon gold and two bronze medals.

Even Kipyegon had previously endorsed her compatriot, stating that Chebet's stellar season, which included two world titles and a world record, was worthy of the Athlete of the Year award.

Voting to determine the finalists is currently open on World Athletics' social media platforms and is scheduled to close on October 19.