Kenyan Stars Shine Bright: Wanyonyi Edges Lyles as Sawe, Serem Grab Global Athletics Honors
Kenya celebrated a historic sweep at the 2025 World Athletics Awards in Monaco, where Emmanuel Wanyonyi outshone America’s Noah Lyles to claim Male Track Athlete of the Year, while Sebastian Sawe won Male Out of Stadium Athlete and Edmund Serem took Male Rising Star.
This triumph highlights Kenya’s rising dominance across track, field, and endurance events, echoing coverage in outlets like Kenya Times.
The 21-year-old Wanyonyi secured world and Olympic 800m titles, a Diamond League crown, and a world-leading 1:41.44 in Monaco, beating Lyles who won 200m and 4x100m golds through sheer consistency against top rivals.
That Tokyo performance capped a sensational campaign in which Wanyonyi delivered four of the six fastest 800m times of the year.
The highlight was the 1:41.44 world-leading run at the Monaco Diamond League in July, a mark that left him just 53 hundredths of a second shy of David Rudisha’s revered world record of 1:40.91.
His Diamond League dominance was equally emphatic, with victories in Oslo, London, Zurich and Monaco cementing his status as the most consistent two-lap runner on the planet.
His victory marks a bold Kenyan push into middle-distance supremacy.
Sawe and Serem’s Breakthrough Wins
Sawe went unbeaten with London and Berlin Marathon victories, including a world-leading 2:02:16, topping Tanzania’s Alphonce Simbu.
The country’s future also glittered brightly through 17-year-old steeplechase prodigy Edmund Serem, crowned Men’s Rising Star of 2025.
The World U20 champion currently stands as Kenya’s most exciting new force in the 3000m steeplechase — a discipline that runs deep in his family, with elder brother Amos Serem also a former World U20 champion.
Serem earned bronze in the 3000m steeplechase at Worlds, runner-up in the Diamond League final, and multiple top finishes.
Broader Global Award Highlights
Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis and USA’s Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone claimed overall World Athlete of the Year honors; Duplantis set four pole vault world records up to 6.30m, while McLaughlin-Levrone won 400m world gold in a North American record 47.78.
Other winners included Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers (Women’s Field), Spain’s Maria Perez (Women’s Out of Stadium), with Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir a notable finalist.
The gala celebrated unbeaten seasons and records, reinforcing athletics’ global excitement