Kenya’s World Under 20 10,000m champion Rhonex Kipruto is among five finalists nominated for the 2018 Male Rising Star Award.
The winner will be announced during the IAAF Athletics Awards 2018 in Monaco on December 4 this year.
Kipruto, 19, won the Africa Cross Country Under-20 men’s title in Chlef, Algeria in March, exerting revenge against Stanley Waithaka, who had beaten him at the Kenya Championships.
Kipruto went on to win the 10,000m race during the Kenyan trials on his way to winning the World Under 20 10,000m title in a Championship Record time of 27:21.08 in Tampere, Finland.
On September 8 in Czech, Kipruto affirmed his status as one of world’s most promising distance runners when he won the Prague Grand Prix 10km race in a course record time of 26:46, missing compatriot Leonard Patrick Komon’s World Record time of 26:44.
The time is still the fastest in 10km Road Race this year.
Kipruto is battling it out with Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega, who won the 2018 Diamond League 5,000m trophy, World Under-20 triple jump champion Jordan Diaz from Cuba and World Under-20 pole vault champion Swede Armand Duplantis.
The nominees are:
Rhonex Kipruto (KEN)
– World U20 champion and world U20 lead at 10,000m with 27:21.08
– Two world U20 bests and world senior lead at road 10km with 26:46, just two seconds outside the senior world record
– African junior cross-country champion
Selemon Barega (ETH)
– IAAF Diamond League champion at 5000m with a world U20 record of 12:43.02, the world’s quickest time since 2005
– World indoor silver at 3000m
– Fourth at World U20 and African Championships 5000m
Jordan Diaz (CUB)
– World U20 lead at triple jump with 17.41m, a world U18 best
– World U20, Youth Olympic and (senior) North/Central American & Caribbean champion
– Central American & Caribbean Games silver
Armand Duplantis (SWE)
– European (senior) champion at pole vault with a world-leading height of 6.05m, which has been bettered outdoors only by Sergey Bukba
– World U20 champion
– Eight world U20 records or bests, indoors and out.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR)
– European (senior) champion at 1500m and 5000m
– World U20 lead at 1500m with 3:31.18
– World U20 silver at 1500m and bronze at 5000m
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