World Marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, and 2018 Triple and Long Jump Diamond League Champion, Caterine Ibarguen of Colombia, are the 2018 IAAF Male and Female Athletes of the Year.
The duo each beat four other finalists to claim the gong for the first time in their respective careers at the IAAF Athletics Awards held in Monaco on Tuesday.
Kipchoge may have only raced twice in 2018, but his superb 2:01:39 Marathon World Record in Berlin on September 16, rubber stamped his position atop long distance running greats, and thus made him an easy pick for the award.
The 34-year-old chopped 78s off the previous mark with a run that will go down as one of the greatest in history. He also won the London Marathon in April in 2:04:17 to finish ahead of a stacked Marathon field.
In 2018, Ibarguen became the first jumper ever to complete a Triple Jump/Long Jump Diamond League sweep and her victory on Tuesday made her the first South American athlete to ever win the IAAF Athlete of the year award. Also, the 2016 Triple Jump Olympic Champion swept both her disciplines at the Continental Cup in September.
The duo of Armand Duplantis and Sydney McLaughlin won the IAAF’s Rising Star Award. Duplantis is the 2018 Pole Vault World Leader (WL) and European Champion, while McLaughlin set a new World Junior Record (52.75s) in the 400m Hurdles.
