Pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis from Sweden and American sprinter Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone have been named the 2025 World Athletes of the Year. The awards were presented Sunday night in Monaco during the World Athletics Awards ceremony.
Both athletes went unbeaten throughout 2025 in their signature events. Duplantis competed in 16 meets without a loss, while McLaughlin-Levrone extended her winning streak to two full years in both the 400m and 400m hurdles.
The ceremony recognized six category winners before announcing the overall winners. Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi took home the men’s track athlete of the year award after winning world and Diamond League titles in the 800m. He posted four of the year’s six fastest times, including a world-leading 1:41.44 in Monaco.
Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers was named women’s field athlete of the year. She won world high jump titles indoors and outdoors, set an Oceanian record of 2.04m, and claimed the Diamond League championship.
Spain’s Maria Perez and Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe received out of stadium athlete of the year honors. Perez won world titles in both the 20km and 35km race walks at the Tokyo World Championships. Sawe captured victories at the London Marathon and Berlin Marathon, running 2:02:16 in Berlin for the year’s fastest time.
Duplantis broke the world pole vault record four times during the year. He cleared 6.27m in Clermont-Ferrand, 6.28m in Stockholm, 6.29m in Budapest, and 6.30m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. The 26-year-old also won his fifth straight Diamond League title and became the first male pole vaulter in modern history to go undefeated for two consecutive years. He captured world titles both indoors and outdoors.
McLaughlin-Levrone won the world 400m title in Tokyo with a North American record of 47.78. Her time broke a 42-year-old championship record and stands as the second-fastest 400m performance ever recorded. She became the first athlete to win world titles in both the 400m flat and 400m hurdles, having won the hurdles event in Oregon in 2022. The 26-year-old also ran on USA’s winning 4x400m relay team in Tokyo.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe addressed the gathering during the ceremony. He stated the awards celebrate the best performances in the sport and honor top athletes across track, field, and out of stadium events.
Both Duplantis and McLaughlin-Levrone previously won Rising Star awards in 2018. Kenya’s Edmund Serem and China’s Zhang Jiale were named the 2025 Rising Stars at this year’s ceremony.
Former World Athletes of the Year presented the category awards. Letsile Tebogo handed out the track athlete honors, Valerie Adams gave the field awards, and Paula Radcliffe presented the out of stadium recognition. Prince Albert II of Monaco announced McLaughlin-Levrone as the women’s winner, and Coe presented Duplantis with his trophy.
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