The Spanish athlete María Pérez, double world champion of walking in 20 and 35 kilometers, has been nominated this Monday for the Athlete of the Year award outside the stadium awarded by the international athletics federation (World Athletics) within its ‘World Athletics Awards 2025’.
Pérez, who has closed the 2025 season undefeated, is among the five candidates for the women’s award. She competes against Ethiopian Tigst Assefa, world marathon runner-up and winner in London; the Dutch Sifan Hassan, winner of the Sydney marathon; the Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir, world marathon champion and five-time global champion; and her compatriot Agnes Ngetich, world record holder of 10 kilometers in an exclusively women’s race and leader of the year in the half marathon.
In the men’s category, the nominees are the Brazilian Caio Bonfim, world champion of the 20 km walk; Canadian Evan Dunfee, 35 km world champion and record holder; the Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha, world leader in 5 and 10 km; the Kenyan Sabastian Sawe, winner of the London and Berlin marathons; and the Tanzanian Alphonce Simbu, world marathon champion.
Voting to choose the finalists in both categories is now open on World Athletics social networks (Facebook, Instagram and X) and will remain active until November 2. The winners will be announced at the World Athletics Awards 2025 gala, scheduled for November 30.