Athletics fans have voiced their frustration after Beatrice Chebet was left out of the World Athlete of the Year finalists, despite an impressive 2024 season that many feel surpasses that of some chosen contenders.
World Athletics announced the finalists across three categories, with St. Lucia’s Julien Alfred and the USA’s Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone among those selected for Female Athlete of the Year.
Chebet, who had an exceptional year by securing two golds in the Paris 2024 Olympics in both the 5,000m and 10,000m events, defending her World Cross-Country title, setting a world record in the 10,000m, and winning the Diamond League title, was a surprising exclusion.
Fans on social media expressed disappointment, especially considering that only Alfred competed beyond the Olympics, also securing the World Indoor title and Diamond League crown, while McLaughlin-Levrone, the Olympic 400m hurdles champion and world record holder, competed only at the Paris Games.
“Beatrice Chebet has obviously taken up gymnastics or something this season because there’s no way she isn’t a finalist based on her season. World Cross Country Champion, 10,000m WR (28:54.14), 5000m Olympic Champion, 10,000m Olympic Champion, and 5000m Diamond League Champion. Absolutely outrageous,” one fan commented on social media.
“It’s like the top school prize being given to the girl who was absent all year and turned up to sit the exams,” noted another.
“While these two women [Alfred and McLaughlin-Levrone] are great athletes for sure, I don’t feel like one Olympic performance constitutes athlete of the year,” another fan remarked.
“Biases in track and field for sure. As a past sprinter, I am shocked Chebet isn’t amongst the finalists. Shame,” said former Jamaican sprinter Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn.
“Beatrice Chebet has been robbed. There needs to be a better way of choosing the winner because this doesn’t make sense,” echoed another fan, adding, “It’s so clear Chebet has been robbed.”
Chebet began her season by securing a second consecutive World Cross-Country title in Belgrade and continued to dominate in the Diamond League, winning the 5,000m in Doha.
She then shattered Letesenbet Gidey’s 10,000m world record of 29:01.03 with a remarkable time of 28:54.14, making her the first woman to break the 29-minute barrier. She later clinched two Olympic golds (5,000m and 10,000m) in Paris and capped off the season with another Diamond League title at the finale in Brussels.
The selection process for the World Athlete of the Year finalists involved a vote from the World Athletics Council, which accounted for 50% of the result, while votes from the World Athletics Family and social media each contributed 25%.
