There was no doubt that Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (SML) and Armand “Mondo” Duplantis would be honoured with World Athlete of the Year awards; they were.
Also honoured were Spain’s Maria Perez and Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe. They were announced as the out-of-stadium athletes of the year. While Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi received the men’s track athlete of the year honour. Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers is the women’s field athlete of the year.
The 2025 Rising Stars are China’s Zhang Jiale and Kenyan Edmund Serem.
SML and Duplantis are peerless in their respective events, both historically and contemporarily. Each has improved their respective world record multiple times. SML in the 400 metre hurdles and Duplantis in the pole vault.
“I hope to keep pushing it. I hope to keep irritating everyone who has to vote for me for years to come. I genuinely try to be the best version of myself that I can possibly be. 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,” said Duplantis.
“Wow, I’m honestly blown away to win this. Thank you so much, World Athletics, for this honour and recognition,” said McLaughlin-Levrone. “The culmination of the season in Tokyo was a really special moment. Track and field is, I believe, the best sport in the world. 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,” said McLaughlin-Levrone.
The athletes were awarded at a gala held in Monaco, where six winners were crowned across the categories of track, field, and out-of-stadium.
