Mondo Duplantis and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone were the top award winners at Sunday’s 2025 World Athletics Awards in Monaco, which honored the best performers in the sport.
It was a busy year on the track, in the field and outside of the stadium in road races and the awards were given out to six athletes across the three categories as Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Nicola Olyslagers, Sabastian Sawe and Maria Perez joined Duplantis and McLaughlin-Levrone as the top honorees.
The impact of the year Duplantis and McLaughlin-Levrone had in the respective disciplines showed why they were given the
“World Athletes of the Year” titles.
Duplantis was on a record-breaking tear in the men’s pole vault 2025, setting four new mark and breaking his own records in the process. He set world records at 6.27m, 6.28m, 6.29m and 6.30m, won his fifth consecutive Diamond League crown and took the world title at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo. He went unbeaten in 16 competitions this year.
“I genuinely try to be the best version of myself that I can possibly be,” Duplantis said. “I have a lot of joy that I hope to spread when I’m on the track; I have an immense passion and joy for what I do. I’m so obsessed with pole vaulting and I love pushing myself. I hope that I can inspire the next generation to try athletics, and even pole vaulting. If I can inspire even just a few people to do it, then I feel I’m doing my job.”
Meanwhile, McLaughlin-Levrone was effective on the track even as she has navigated the switch to the 400m after years of dominance in the 400m hurdles. She won the women’s 400m world title in Tokyo to cap a year where she she posted the second-fastest 400m of all time. Her efforts in Tokto extended to her teammates as she helped power Team USA to gold in the women’s 4x400m relay. She is also the first athlete to win world titles in the 400m and 400m hurdles.
“Track and field is, I believe, the best sport in the world, McLaughlin-Levrone said. “I want to continue to show the world that we are some of the best athletes around. For me, 2025 was a year of stepping outside of the comfort zone and pushing the bounds of what was mentally and physically possible. I want to continue pushing boundaries in 2026.”
In track, Wanyonyi won the men’s award in a year where he won the world and Diamond League championships in the men’s 800m, while Olyslagers won the world indoor and outdoor women’s high jump titles, Diamond League crown and is the world leader in the event with an area record.
Both out of stadium athletes took the year by storm as Perez stunned in the women’s 20km race walk and the 35km race walk by winning both world titles in Tokyo while Sawe won the London Marathon and Berlin Marathon.
“The World Athletics Awards is a celebration of the very best of our sport,” World Athletics President Sebastian said at the ceremony. “Tonight, we honor our greatest men’s and women’s athletes and rising stars across track, field and out of stadium.”
“If there’s a motto for this year’s Awards, it is ‘for the athletes, by the athletes’ and the recipients tonight will aptly receive their prizes from some of our most storied Awards winners down the years,” he added.
In the weeks leading up to the awards, however, the ballot process drew intense scrutiny after notable omissions when the finalists were announced as Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet were all snubbed. Jefferson-Wooden had a standout year on the track in the women’s 100m and 200m that made her performances impossible to ignore while Kipyegon and Chebet both shattered world records. Kipyegon won the world title in the women’s 1,500m while Chebet surged two a pair of gold medals in the women’s 5,000m and 10,000m.
2025 World Athletes of the Year
Women’s Athlete of the Year: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA)
Men’s Athlete of the Year: Mondo Duplantis (Sweden)
Women’s track: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA)
Women’s field: Nicola Olyslagers (Australia)
Women’s out of stadium: Maria Perez (Spain)
Men’s track: Emmanuel Wanyonyi (Kenya)
Men’s field: Mondo Duplantis (Sweden)
Men’s out of stadium: Sabastian Sawe (Kenya)
Women’s Rising Star: Zhang Jiale (China)
Men’s Rising Star: Edmund Serem (Kenya)
President’s Award: Bruce McAvaney
Woman of the Year: Ruth Jepchumba Bundotich
Coaching Achievement Award: Michael O’Connor
Photograph of the Year: Vegard Grott
Member Federation Award: China
Fair Play Award: Tim Van de Velde
