STORY-TRÅD·sport
Alison dos Santos up for World Athletics’ Athlete of the Year award
The current world record holder in the 400-meter hurdles, Brazilian Alison dos Santos, was nominated Tuesday (Oct. 6) for the World Athletics Athlete of the Year award. Piu, as he is known in Brazil, had a memorable season, including a record-breaking performance at the Diamond League in Zurich, Switzerland, and his third career victory in the Diamond League, the world’s premier track and field circuit. And there’s more – Alison lifted the trophy at the inaugural Ultimate World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, which brought together the world’s best athletes. Notícias relacionadas:Alison dos Santos wins 2026 World Athletics Ultimate Championship.Alison dos Santos wins Diamond League title for 3rd time.Alison dos Santos breaks 400m hurdles world record.Nine other male athletes are competing with Piu, including Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis, world record holder in the pole vault, and Kenya’s Sebastian Sawe, who this year set the fastest time in the history of the London Marathon with a time of 1:59:30. No Brazilian athletes appear on the list of 10 nominated female runners. The finalists for the Athlete of the Year award will be determined by a vote that closes at midnight on October 17, Central European Time. Four groups are eligible to vote, each with a 25 percent weighting: World Athletics fans (click here to vote), athletes who have competed in the 2026 World Athletics Series, members of the media, and members of the World Athletics Family – such as council and committee members, competition organizers, and athlete representatives. The three finalists in each gender will be announced on November 10 and 11. The Best Athlete of the Year award will be presented in Monaco on November 29. A two-time Olympic medalist (bronze in Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024), Piu set a new world record in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 45.80 seconds at the Diamond League meet in Zurich, Switzerland, surpassing the previous record (45.94 seconds) set by Norway’s Karsten Warholm at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The São Paulo native also became a three-time Diamond League champion by winning all six Diamond League meets he competed in: Shaoxing, China; Xiamen, China; Oslo, Norway; Stockholm, Sweden; Silesia, Poland; Zurich, Switzerland; and Brussels, Belgium. Piu had already clinched the Diamond League title in both 2022 and 2024. In September, Alison dos Santos also won the first edition of the Ultimate World Athletics Championships in Budapest, which brought together the world’s best athletes, including American Rai Benjamin and Norwegian Warholm.