World Athletics President Responds to Noah Lyles’ Concerns After ‘Joke’ Athlete of the Year Awards Jibe
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World Athletics President Sebastian Coe has confirmed that the voting system for the World Athlete of the Year awards is "under review" following recent controversial outcomes.
World Athletics is facing mounting criticism over its World Athlete of the Year awards. The controversy escalated in 2023 when the organization unexpectedly split the award into three categories—track, field, and out of stadium—without prior notice to the nominees.
Further scrutiny followed in 2024 with the controversial selection of Julien Alfred as a finalist over Beatrice Chebet.
The situation intensified in 2025 when 400m hurdles world champion Femke Bol was named a finalist for female track athlete of the year, despite many observers believing Chebet (5,000m/10,000m gold, 5,000m world record) and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (100m/200m/4x100m triple gold) had objectively superior seasons.
Lyles Termed Awards a ‘Joke’
Noah Lyles, the 2023 men's track athlete of the year, captured the sentiment of many athletes, telling Sportstar this week, "at this point, this award is kind of a joke."
The current system involves a panel of experts creating a nominee list. Finalists are then determined by a vote where the World Athletics Council holds 50% of the weight, the "World Athletics Family" holds 25%, and a public social media poll accounts for the remaining 25%. The organization does not disclose the voting totals.
In response to the recent backlash, Coe confirmed that the voting process is being re-evaluated. "It’s a democratic vote, we respect the results," he said as quoted by LetsRun. "But again, we want to make sure that the voting structure is optimizing our opportunities to promote and celebrate the best of their generation."
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