World Athletics nominated Olympic and world champion Soufiane El Bakkali to compete for the 2023 Male Athlete of the Year award, on its website on Thursday.
The list of nominees includes 11 athletes from various countries, including El Bakkali, crowned world champion in the 3,000 meter steeplechase last August for the second time running at the World Athletics Championships (Budapest-2023).
The Athlete was undefeated in his last six games.
With this new world title, the Moroccan champion confirmed his status as the undisputed master of this event.
This week marks the opening of the voting process, ahead of the World Athletics Awards 2023.
The World Athletics Council’s vote will count for 50% of the final outcome, while the World Athletics Family and public votes will each count for 25%.
The vote for World Athletes of the Year closes at midnight on Saturday, October 28. World Athletics will unveil five women and five men finalists on Nov. 13-14, following the end of the voting process.
On December 11, the winners will be announced on World Athletics’ social media platforms.
The list of nominees, it says, was selected by an international panel comprising athletics experts representing World Athletics’ six continental zones.