World Athletics Awards

Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva and Morocco's middle-distance runner Hicham El Guerrouj have won the main award three times.

[1] American track and field athlete Marion Jones, sprinter Sanya Richards-Ross representing the USA, Carl Lewis and other American sprinter Michael Johnson, Ethiopia's long-distance runner Kenenisa Bekele, Kenya's long-distance runner Eliud Kipchoge and Venezuela's triple-jumper Yulima Rojas have won the award twice each.

Ethiopian long-distance runner Kenenisa Bekele was the first to receive Rising Star award followed by Athlete of the Year trophy in 2003 and 2004 respectively.

[2] In earlier years of the award, the nomination pool included track & filed athletes who had then retired but had made a lasting name for themselves both as competitors as well as in their daily lives.

[10] In 2023, the World Athlete of the Year awards for men and women were expanded into three event categories: track, field, and out of stadium.

However, a final round of voting cast by fans of the sport decided the overall World Athlete of the Year once the finalists had been established.

[15] Tirunesh Dibaba Won per country The Fair Play award was introduced in 2003 by World Athletics in partnership with CIFP.

Beitia was recognised for her efforts to console Alessia Trost of Italy after she failed to qualify for the final in the women's high jump at the IAAF World Championships London 2017.

Busby was near collapse with about 200 metres left in the race, when Dabo stopped to help his distressed fellow competitor.

Bradshaw received a lot of abuse on social media for withdrawing from the competition, but Nageotte again offered support by taking to Twitter in defence of her competitor.

Gidey’s fair play moment occurred at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23.

At Paris 2024, despite the disappointment of no-heighting in the pole vault and losing contention for a decathlon medal, Skotheim's continued to compete and unselfishly supported his compatriot Markus Rooth in the final discipline – the 1500m.

Sprinter Usain Bolt , here holding the 2011 trophy, was World Athlete of the Year in 2008, 2009, 2011–2013, and 2016, more times than any other athlete.
Middle-distance runner Hicham El Guerrouj has won the World Athlete of the Year award three times in 2001–2003.
Pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva was World Athlete of the Year in 2004, 2005 and 2008, the most wins in the female category, because Marion Jones 's third award was annulled.
Sprinter Erriyon Knighton is one of the two athletes that won the Rising Star of the Year award twice, in 2021 and 2022. Usain Bolt achieved that feat in 2002 and 2003.