World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year narrowed down to five

November 14, 2022

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica, Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan, American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Peru’s Kimberly Garcia, and Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas are the five finalists for the World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year.

Fraser-Pryce known as the pocket rocket won the 2022 Eugene World Athletics Championships gold medal in the 100-metre event clocking a 10.67. The 35-year-old, coming off an outstanding 2021, also took silver in the 200m event and the 4 x 100m relay. Fraser-Pryce won five Diamond League meets in 2022.

Female Athlete of the Year Finalist ✨ @realshellyannfp 🇯🇲

Find out who will be crowned winner at the #AthleticsAwards on 5 December 👑 pic.twitter.com/cwELZy7fr7
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) November 14, 2022

The 23-year-old Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone clocked a 50.68 400m hurdles on her way to a gold medal at the World Championships in Eugene. At the same championships hosted at Hayward Field, she was part of the American gold-medal 4 x 400m relay squad. She twice improved the world record in the hurdles event in 2022.

Yulimar Rojas triple-jumped her way to world championships gold leaping as far as 15.47m. In March she won gold at the World Indoor Championships in Beograd, Serbia jumping 15.74m. Rojas won three Diamond League meets in 2022.

For Kimberly Garcia of Peru, 2022 was a big year. She set national and South American records in the 20K and 35K racewalk events, respectively. She also took both golds at the Eugene World Athletics Championships in the two events. Garcia finished the 20K in the time of 1:26:58 and the 35K in 2:39:16. Both are personal bests, and national records.

In Muscat, Oman, at the World Racewalking Cup, the 29-year-old took bronze in the 20K.

Female Athlete of the Year Finalist ✨

Kimberly Garcia 🇵🇪

Find out who will be crowned winner at the #AthleticsAwards on 5 December 👑 pic.twitter.com/b1NRBLR8jP
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) November 14, 2022

It was a career-defining year for Tobi Amusan who set new personal bests in 2022 in the 100m at 11.14, and 11.11 wind-aided, 200m in 22.66, and a world record in her specialty the 100m hurdles clocking a 12.12 performance. She also hurdled to a wind-aided 12.06. The 25-year-old won gold at the Eugene World Championships in the hurdles event.

At the Birmingham Commonwealth Games Amusan earned gold in the hurdles as well as the 4 x 100m relay.

Female Athlete of the Year Finalist ✨
@TeamRojas45 🇻🇪

Find out who will be crowned winner at the #AthleticsAwards on 5 December 👑 pic.twitter.com/4mWfhOvYis
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) November 14, 2022

The top-5 listed were narrowed down from the top-10. The Athlete of the Year will be chosen in part from the World Athletics Council, World Athletics Family, and fan voting via social media.