Kenyan athletics coach Julius Kirwa believes it is unfair that Kenya does not have a finalist among the five contenders for the 2022 World Athlete. He said that the two-time 1,500m world champion Faith Kipyegon deserved to be among the finalists to compete for the award.
“Faith Kipyegon has achieved a lot and her not making the top five is the least bit unexpected for us as a country”, said Julius Kirwa.
The Kenyan athlete won the 1,500m world title in Oregon in 3:52.96 minutes, as well as the diamond trophy in the event. She also finished the year as world No 1 for the season with a new Kenyan record of 3:50.37 minutes (just 3 seconds off the world record).
The five athletes who were named as finalists for the award are Tobi Amusan (Nigeria), Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Nigeria), Kimberly Garcia (Peru), Sydney McLaughlin (USA) and Yulimar Rojas (Venezuela).
