Olympic stars Hassan and Tebogo receive 'athletes of the year' award
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Dutch marathon runner Sifan Hassan and Botswana's sprinter Letsile Tebogo, both of whom took gold at the Paris Olympics, were named 'Athletes of the Year' by World Athletics in Monaco on Sunday.
Hassan was rewarded for her incredible performance in the French capital which stretched beyond the marathon and onto the track.
In the space of seven days, she won two bronze medals in the 5,000 meters, having also run a heat, and the 10,000, and a spectacular gold in the marathon when she outsprinted Kenyan world record holder Tigist Assefa to win by just three seconds.
Tebogo received the award after becoming the first African to be crowned Olympic champion in the 200m, crossing the line at the Stade de France in 19.46 seconds, edging out the American Kenny Bednarek and favorite Noah Lyles.
The International Athletics Federation also decided to reward several other athletes who shone at the Olympics.
Swedish pole-vaulter Armand Duplantis won the men's all-around category after an unbeaten 2024, winning Olympic gold and setting a new world record of 6.26 meters.
Ukrainian Yaroslava Mahuchikh was the winner in the women's event, after improving the old high jump world record to 2.10m at the age of just 22 and also winning Olympic gold in Paris.
In addition to Tebogo, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was rewarded in the track category for beating her own world record in the 400m hurdles, running 50.37 to win gold in Pari while men's Olympic marathon champion, Ethiopian Tamirat Tola was also rewarded for his work on the road.