Noah Lyles, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Headline Nominees for 2025 USATF Athlete of the Year Awards

USA Track & Field has unveiled the star-studded list of nominees for its 2025 end-of-year awards, with track sensations Noah Lyles and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone among the top contenders. The ceremony is scheduled for December 5 in Orlando, Florida, and will honor the outstanding performances of American athletes throughout the season.

The nominations follow a dominant year for Team USA, which secured an impressive 16 gold medals at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo and an additional six at the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi.

In a significant development, this year's ceremony will be the first to include the Para Athlete of the Year awards, following the integration of the U.S. Paralympic track and field program into USATF.

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The list of nominees features a host of Paris 2024 Olympic champions, including Valarie Allman, Ryan Crouser, Rai Benjamin, and Tara Davis-Woodhall. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who enjoyed a phenomenal breakout year with a triple gold medal haul in Tokyo, is also in the running for the prestigious Female Athlete of the Year award.

The winners will be decided through a combination of votes from the public and members of the track and field media. Fan voting is open until 11:59 p.m. ET on November 10, 2025, via the official USATF Awards voting page.

Valarie Allman: Remained undefeated in the discus, setting a world-leading mark of 73.52m and winning her first world title in Tokyo.

Tara Davis-Woodhall: Dominated the long jump, staying unbeaten and capturing World Championships gold with a world-leading 7.13m leap.

Anna Hall: Became the first American woman since Jackie Joyner-Kersee in 1992 to win a heptathlon world title, scoring an incredible 7032 points.

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden: Made history by sweeping the 100m (10.61) and 200m (21.68) at the World Championships and anchoring the 4x100m relay team to gold.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone: Excelled after moving to the 400m, breaking the American record (47.78) and anchoring the 4x400m relay team to a gold medal.

Katie Moon: Secured her fourth consecutive world pole vault title, clearing a height of 4.90m.

Rai Benjamin: Won his first world title in the 400m hurdles with a world-leading time and anchored the 4x400m relay team to a silver medal.

Ryan Crouser: Made a triumphant return from injury to claim his fifth straight global shot put title. Cole Hocker: Became only the second American man in history to win the 5000m at the World Championships.

Noah Lyles: Won his third consecutive 200m world title with a time of 19.51 and anchored the 4x100m relay team to gold. Cordell Tinch: Crowned world champion in the 110m hurdles after setting a world-leading time of 12.87.

Female Nominees (Presented by Toyota)
Annie Carey: Won gold in the 200m T44 and silver in the 100m T44, while also setting a T44 world record in the long jump T64. Arelle Middleton: Became the shot put F44 world champion and set a new Americas Record at the Para Nationals.

Susannah Scaroni: Dominated the marathon circuit with wins in Boston, Sydney, and Chicago, and currently leads the Abbott WMM Elite Series standings.

Male Nominees Jaydin Blackwell: Became a double world champion in the 100m and 400m T38, setting a new world record in the 400m with a time of 48.00. Michael Brannigan: Secured his third world title in the 1500m T20. Joel Gomez: Claimed his first world title in the 1500m T13 and ran an unofficial world record of 3:47.70.How to Watch the Ceremony

The USATF Awards Ceremony will be held on December 5, 2025, during the USATF Annual Meeting in Orlando. Fans can watch the event live on USATF.TV+ and follow along on USATF's social media channels for live updates and exclusive content.