There have been big city races with mass participation, high-profile clashes between the world&rsquo;s elite distance runners, and numerous records broken across a range of distances.
Road running is back in a big way.
While some World Athletics Label road races in 2022 still had to be postponed or adapted in the face of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, road running as a whole is almost back to normal.
Nine Elite Platinum Label marathons have been held already this year, with the 10th and final one due to take place in Valencia on 4 December.
<h2>World Athletics Elite Platinum marathons in 2022</h2>
<h3>Tokyo &ndash; 6 March</h3>
Winners: Brigid Kosgei (KEN) 2:16:02 CR, Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) 2:02:40 CR World record-holders Brigid Kosgei and Eliud Kipchoge got their years off to a great start, winning in the Japanese capital with course records. Finishers: 18,272 
<h3>Nagoya &ndash; 13 March</h3>
Winner: Ruth Chepngetich (KEN) 2:17:18 CR After an enthralling tussle with Israel&rsquo;s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, Ruth Chepngetich prevailed in 2:17:18, breaking the course record in the world&rsquo;s largest women-only marathons. Finishers: 8698 
<h3>Seoul &ndash; 17 April</h3>
Winners: Joan Chelimo Melly (KEN) 2:18:04 CR, Mosinet Geremew (ETH) 2:04:43 CR Eventual winners Joan Chelimo Melly and Mosinet Geremew were pushed all the way to course records in the Korean capital in two close races. Geremew won by six seconds, while Melly finished eight seconds ahead of her nearest rival. 
<h3>Boston &ndash; 18 April</h3>
Winners: Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) 2:21:01, Evans Chebet (KEN) 2:06:51 Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir maintained her winning streak to win in one of the world&rsquo;s most prestigious races, finishing just four seconds ahead of Ethiopia&rsquo;s Ababel Yeshaneh. Evans Chebet enjoyed a more comfortable victory in the men&rsquo;s race. Finishers: 24,607 
<h3>Berlin &ndash; 25 September</h3>
Winners: Tigist Assefa (ETH) 2:15:37 CR, Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) 2:01:09 WR Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge returned to the site of his last world record-breaking performance and improved on the mark by 30 seconds, setting a world record of 2:01:09. Meanwhile, Tigist Assefa smashed the women&rsquo;s course record &ndash; and Ethiopian record &ndash; with her 2:15:37 victory. Finishers: 34,879
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6330238e521cacd820f1ea0e.jpg" alt="Eliud Kipchoge breaks the world record at the Berlin Marathon" />
Eliud Kipchoge breaks the world record at the Berlin Marathon (&copy; Getty Images)
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<h3>London &ndash; 2 October</h3>
Winners: Yalemzerf Yehualaw (ETH) 2:17:26, Amos Kipruto (KEN) 2:04:39 Yalemzerf Yehualaw got the better of defending champion Joyciline Jepkosgei in an enthralling duel, while Amos Kipruto made a similar late-race break to take the men&rsquo;s title. Finishers: 40,578 
<h3>Chicago &ndash; 9 October</h3>
Winners: Ruth Chepngetich (KEN) 2:14:18 WL, Benson Kipruto (KEN) 2:04:24 Ruth Chepngetich came within seconds of the world record to win in 2:14:18, the second-fastest time in history. Benson Kipruto, winner in Boston last year, added another US big city marathon win to his collection. Finishers: 39,420 
<h3>Amsterdam &ndash; 16 October</h3>
Winners: Almaz Ayana (ETH) 2:17:20 CR, Tsegaye Getachew (ETH) 2:04:49 Ethiopia&rsquo;s 2016 Olympic 10,000m champion Almaz Ayana ran the fastest marathon debut in history to win in the Dutch capital, holding off former track rival and compatriot Genzebe Dibaba. Tsegaye Getachew made it an Ethiopian double, winning by just five seconds from Titus Kipruto. Finishers: 12,669 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/634c03fd4d109a037e4bc944.jpg" alt="Almaz Ayana wins the TCS Amsterdam Marathon" />
Almaz Ayana wins the TCS Amsterdam Marathon (&copy; NN Running Team)
</div>
<h3>New York City &ndash; 6 November</h3>
Winners: Sharon Lokedi (KEN) 2:23:23, Evans Chebet (KEN) 2:08:41 Kenya&rsquo;s Sharon Lokedi pulled off one of the biggest road-running surprises of 2022, winning the New York City Marathon on her debut at the distance and beating many established stars of the sport. Evans Chebet added to his Boston win from earlier in the year. Finishers: 47,839 
<h3>Valencia &ndash; 4 December</h3>
Elite field: includes Letesenbet Gidey, Sutume Kebede, Tiki Gelana, Tigist Girma, Etagegne Woldu, Amane Shankule and Tadelech Bekele in the women&rsquo;s race, and Getaneh Molla, Tamirat Tola, Dawit Wolde, Jonathan Korir, Hiskel Tewelde, Chalu Deso and Gabriel Geay in the men&rsquo;s race. Places: 30,000
&nbsp;
<h2>For the masses</h2>
It&rsquo;s not just elite runners who have been able to enjoy top-quality road racing. Events in most corners of the world have been able to stage mass races of some sort in 2022.
That looks set to continue in 2023 too, not just with Label road races but also at World Athletics Series events.
The World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 will have a mass participation road race held during the championships. Meanwhile, the World Athletics Road Running Championships Riga 23 will be a festival of road running, combining elite and mass-participation races over a range of distances. <a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-road-running-championships/riga23/register" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Registration for that opened recently</a>.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6335bca5854241edda7cfb78.jpg" alt="Logo launched for WRRC Riga 23" /></div>
And, of course, at the start of the year the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 23 will also have several mass races, including relays. <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-cross-country-championships/bathurst23/mass-races" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Registration is open now</a>. The event will also incorporate the World Masters Athletics Short Course Cross Country Championships with relays and individual races for a whole range of age groups.
So while 2022 was a great year for road running and mass participation events, 2023 looks set to be even bigger and better.

Road running is back in a big way

2022 - the year when international road racing got back to normal

Japan believes it can dominate the men&rsquo;s race walks at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 &ndash; providing it learns lessons from the past.
Toshikazu Yamanishi was a shoo-in for Olympic 20km gold medal on home soil last year. Indeed, his country&rsquo;s rising sons were favourites for a medal sweep, only to see Massimo Stano upset the apple cart. The Italian powered away towards the end, and then paid homage at the finish by bowing to Koki Ikeda and Yamanishi as they crossed in second and third.
But, spurred on by Stano&rsquo;s terrific 35km gold at the World Championships in Oregon, Japan too showed what they can do in that discipline at the All-Japan Race Walking event last month in Takahata.
The times recorded in just about any other country would have been very impressive, but for a country that regularly sees four or five race walkers power under 78 minutes for 20km, it&rsquo;s just the start.
Yamanishi won in 2:26:18, which was good enough for 11th on this year&rsquo;s world list, and 17th all time. He was followed home by Satoshi Maruo in 2:27:33, while Subaru Ishida completed the podium in 2:30:37. To put that into context, an end-of-season race &ndash; albeit one for World Championship and Asian Games selection &ndash; still put all three in the world&rsquo;s top 31 for 2022.
Yamanishi&rsquo;s victory was rubber stamped long before the end. He got to 30km in 2:04:57 and was 45 seconds in front of Maruo. The winner could then afford to ease off the pedal during the final 5km before breaking the tape.
Can Japan dominate both men&rsquo;s race walks at the next World Championships, bearing in mind their strength in depth? Yamanishi thinks they can.
&ldquo;Yes, that is possible, in my opinion,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Of course, it is very hard to get medals at the World Championships, but the current Japanese team have enough potential. For that, we have to enhance our performance more and to match peaks on the day of the race.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/637b8e54423f9a07f58572f0.jpg" alt="Toshikazu Yamanishi at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22" />
Toshikazu Yamanishi at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 (&copy; Getty Images)
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That last part is telling. The bespectacled 26-year-old looked set to cement a glittering career at the Olympics in Sapporo as the then world champion from Doha, 2019. He also boasted the fastest 2021 time: 1:17:36 from February on home soil.
But it all started to unravel on Odori Park as he slipped back over the final 1.5km. Stano and Ikeda heard the bell with a six-second advantage over Yamanishi, who looked unusually spent over that last kilometre.
Stano had nine seconds over Ikeda by the finish, and 23 over Yamanishi, who was forced to wear a relatively disappointing bronze medal on the podium.
He was able to put that behind him in July with World Championships gold for the second time, and admits he&rsquo;s likely to leave it to other teammates like Masatora Kawano, second in Oregon at 35km, even if there is the tantalising prospect of double gold.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not impossible (to win both), but it must be really hard, especially in the men&rsquo;s event,&rdquo; said Yamanishi. &ldquo;Even so, the two golds were won by narrow margins in Oregon.&rdquo;
Indeed, there was only a seven-second difference at 20km (between him and Ikeda), and only one second at 35km.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/637b8e35460c3ea36905dc4d.jpg" alt="Toshikazu Yamanishi and Koki Ikeda at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22" />
Toshikazu Yamanishi and Koki Ikeda at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
&ldquo;Winning both requires physical and mental toughness,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;However, looking at the women&rsquo;s case (in the World and European Championships), the same thing could happen in the men&rsquo;s event.&rdquo;
For all that, Yamanishi made plain a serious tilt at 35km is for the future, even if that one-second win by Stano in Oregon was less than two minutes outside the world record (2:21:31).
&ldquo;Now my main event is 20km,&rdquo; said Yamanishi. &ldquo;So, it needs lots of preparation for me to try the current world record at 35km. When I tackle the 35km in earnest in future, of course I&rsquo;ll aim for it.&rdquo;
Although the double word champion is doubtful he will attempt both distances in Budapest, Kawano is not. Given the chance, the world 35km silver medallist thinks two races nine days apart is more than doable. After all, he was a stride behind Stano as both strove for the line in Oregon.
Mouth open, desperately sucking in air, Kawano collapsed over the line to take second place. He and top race walkers know that the difference on any given race day between a medal and nothing can be the blink of an eye.
&ldquo;In the world, there are athletes who win both the 20km and the 35km,&rdquo; Kawano said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s because the strong 20km walkers are performing really well in the 35km. If I am given the chance, I too would like to challenge both 20km and 35km in the same competition.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/637b917c4b143479e53432a6.jpg" alt="Masatora Kawano at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22" />
Masatora Kawano at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
It&rsquo;s worth pointing out the 24-year-old from Hyūga&rsquo;s personal best at the shorter distance is only nine seconds behind Yamanishi: 1:17:15 to Kawano&rsquo;s 1:17:24 set in 2019.
The latter now also holds the Asian record for 35km, set in Oregon, and is unlikely to be challenged for the defunct 50km national record of 3:36:45, also set in 2019.
Factor in the likes of Ikeda, Eiki Takahashi, Daisuke Matsunaga, and Isamu Fujisawa &ndash; all with 20km PBs inside 1:18 and all still active, there&rsquo;s reason to believe Japan&rsquo;s men can win all six medals in Budapest on a good day.
The country&rsquo;s senior women are also edging closer to global success, as Yaminishi points out.
&ldquo;Step by step, Japanese women are also getting close to medals,&rdquo; he said.
Nanako Fujii was sixth in Oregon. The 23-year-old went one place better than she managed in Doha in 2019 where Kumiko Okada took sixth in the same race.
&ldquo;They are still in the middle of the road,&rdquo; Yamanishi added, &ldquo;but have improved their performance. I hope they get higher places in Budapest and break the current national record in 2023.&rdquo;
If not them, how about Ai Ooyama and Ayane Yanai in the future?
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/637ba1ca3c7d3a37c8621e92.jpg" alt="Ayane Yanai and Ai Ooyama lead the 10,000m race walk at the World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22" />
Ayane Yanai and Ai Ooyama lead the 10,000m race walk at the World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22 (&copy; Oscar Munoz Badilla)
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If proof was ever needed the sun continues to rise over Japan&rsquo;s race walk future, it was the tremendous silver and bronze earned by Ooyama and Yanai in the 10,000m race walk at the World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22 in August.
At 16, Ooyama became one of the youngest ever world U20 medallists, and teammate Yani is still 18.
In fact, had Ooyama looked over her shoulder in the last 20 metres, she might have been able to do something about the last-second sprint from Mexico&rsquo;s eventual gold medallist Karla Serrano.
Chances are the rest of the race walking world won&rsquo;t need to look over their shoulders: Japan&rsquo;s race walkers will be ahead in all categories and at all ages.
Paul Warburton for World Athletics

World Athletics Championships, Budapest 2023

Japan believes it can dominate the men’s race walks at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 – providing it learns lessons from the past

Japan aiming to build on recent race walks success in bid for more medals in Budapest

Turkey&rsquo;s Yasemin Can and Burundi&rsquo;s Thierry Ndikumwenayo secured respective victories at the Cross Internacional de It&aacute;lica on the outskirts of Seville in what was the sixth World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting of the season, on a sunny and pleasant Sunday (20).
While Can prevailed over Uganda's Peruth Chemutai in a thrilling clash, Ndikumwenayo unleashed a sprint victory over his training partner Rodrigue Kwizera and a star-studded line-up.
The women&rsquo;s contest was held over the slightly longer distance of 10.1km, but that was no barrier for Olympic steeplechase champion Chemutai, who took control of the race from the start. After just one minute into the race, only Kenya&rsquo;s Purity Chepkirui and Nancy Jepleting, Yasemin Can and Ethiopia's Meselu Berhe managed to stay close to the 23-year-old Ugandan. Berhe was the first casualty as she began to lose ground before the second kilometre.
While Chemutai made most of the pacing duties at 3:18/km pace, 2021 world U20 1500m champion Chepkirui ran closest to her shoulder with four-time European cross-country champion Can in third and Jepleting in fourth. The first serious move came just before the fourth kilometre when Chemutai's relentless rhythm began to pay off as firstly Jepleting and then Chepkirui began to falter, leaving Can as Chemutai&rsquo;s only rival.
Way behind the top-five, Spain's Isabel Barreiro, the winner in Amorebieta, headed a five-woman chase pack which also included steeplechase specialists Irene S&aacute;nchez-Escribano and Olympic finalist Carolina Robles, plus 5000m specialists Marta Garc&iacute;a and Portugal's Mariana Machado.
After successive 2.5km loops of 7:56 and 7:54, Can decided to take charge of the race, moving ahead of Chemutai with Chepkirui 14 seconds in arrears. Midway through the penultimate lap, Barreiro injected a brisker pace in pursuit of Jepleting and Berhe.
Can and Chemutai, timed at 8:01 for the penultimate lap, were locked in battle as they set off on the final lap. The Ugandan, who placed fifth at the 2019 World Cross in Aarhus, tried to get rid of Can on an uphill section with 750 metres remaining, but the Turk held off her challenge to regain the lead, launch her attack some 450 metres from home, eventually crossing the finish line unopposed in 32:31 to the Ugandan's 32:34.
More than a minute further back, Chepkirui secured third place while Barreiro displayed the form of her life as she passed Jepleting and Berhe to finish fourth. A fast-finishing Garc&iacute;a was a creditable fifth as she pipped Berhe in the home straight.
At the finish line, Can expressed her happiness at the win and felt optimistic about her chances at the European Cross Country Championships in Turin on 11 December, the day of her 26th birthday.
<h2>Ndikumwenayo maintains momentum</h2>
The men's race started with Spain's 2017 European cross-country silver medallist Adel Mechaal at the front of the pack. The 32-year-old led a large group with all the main favourites such as Ndikumwenayo, his fellow Burundian Rodrigue Kwizera and the Kenyan pair of Stanley Waithaka and Levy Kibet in close attendance.
With the clock reading 11:00, the in-form Ndikumwenayo moved to the front for the first time to head a group of eight. Ndikumwenayo heated up the pace as the leading group covered the second lap in 7:09 for the opening cicuit's 7:21. By halfway, Spain's world 1500m bronze medallist Mohamed Katir was in second place ahead of Kwizera and Waithaka, but midway through the penultimate circuit Eritrea's Merhawi Mebrahtu took the lead and his frantic pace whittled down the lead group to six men. After another swift lap, which only took 7:04, Kwizera led at the bell with Ndikumwenayo and Katir closest to him.
The Castell&oacute;n-based Kwizera pushed hard throughout the closing lap, setting a cadence that Katir could not maintain before entering the final kilometre. Shortly afterwards, 19-year-old Mebrahtu lost any chance of a podium place and the race became a double Burundian-Kenyan affair, a duel resolved in favour of the former as Kwizera and Ndikumwenayo managed to build a sizeable margin on the Kenyan pair some 500 metres from home.
The two leaders completed the final lap in a brisk 6:50 before negotiating the tricky final bend. Once again, Ndikumwenayo &ndash; who ran a world-leading 7:25:93 for 3000m earlier this year &ndash; produced a speedy finish and prevailed over Kwizera, but only just as both were credited with the same time, 28:51. Six seconds back, Kibet took third place after overtaking Waithaka in the closing stages.
&ldquo;This is my third win a row this cross country season,&rdquo; said a delighted Ndikumwenayo. &ldquo;I'm surprised because I only began to train a couple two months ago after the summer break but I feel great both physically and mentally. I'll now stop competing and will do a 25-day training camp in the altitude of Sierra Nevada (3479m). My next event might be a New Year&rsquo;s Eve race in Spain but it's not confirmed yet.&rdquo;
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women 1 Yasemin Can (TUR) 32:31 2 Peruth Chemutai (UGA) 32:34 3 Purity Chepkirui (KEN) 33:47 4 Isabel Barreiro (ESP) 33:57 5 Marta Garc&iacute;a (ESP) 34:07 6 Meselu Berhe (ETH) 34:08 7 Carolina Robles (ESP) 34:11 8 Irene S&aacute;nchez-Escribano (ESP) 34:21 9 Laura Luengo (ESP) 34:30 10 Manuela Machado (POR) 34:34
Men 1 Thierry Ndikumwenayo (BDI) 28:51 2 Rodrigue Kwizera (BDI) 28:51 3 Levy Kibet (KEN) 28:57 4 Stanley Waithaka (KEN) 29:00 5 Merhawi Mebrahtu (ERI) 29:08 6 Mohamed Katir (ESP) 29:17 7 Nassim Hassaous (ESP) 29:27 8 Sergio Paniagua (ESP) 29:29 9 Adel Mechaal (ESP) 29:34 10 Roberto Alaiz (ESP) 29:36

Close finishes in Seville

Can and Ndikumwenayo claim Itálica titles

As the World Athletics Awards 2022 draws near, we shine a spotlight on the finalists for the World Athlete of the Year awards.
The World Athletes of the Year will be announced on World Athletics&rsquo; social media platforms in early December, as part of the World Athletics Awards 2022. 
<h2>Yulimar Rojas</h2>
Based purely on her margins of victory and her winning streak, Yulimar Rojas is arguably the most dominant athlete in any event right now.
And given her impact on the world all-time lists and her ever-growing list of accolades, she can lay claim to being the greatest ever exponent in the women&rsquo;s triple jump.
Even before 2022 began, the 27-year-old had already achieved all there is to win in the sport &ndash; Olympic gold, world titles indoors and out, as well as her world records indoors and outdoors. But the Venezuelan, clearly as motivated as ever, continued to improve in 2022 as she added two more global titles to her already impressive collection.
Her season opener hinted at what the year would have in store. She won at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Madrid with 15.41m, the second-best indoor jump in history and just two centimetres shy of her own world indoor record.
But the standout moment of her year came 18 days later at the World Indoor Championships Belgrade 22, just her second competition of 2022, where she won her third successive title in an outright world record of 15.74m, adding seven centimetres to the world record she set when winning Olympic gold in Tokyo last year.
Despite some minor injury concerns delaying the start to her outdoor season, Rojas&rsquo;s undefeated streak continued when she resumed competition in June. 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3RQvgHLZs2U" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 She then went on to win her third consecutive outdoor world title in Oregon with a world-leading 15.47m.
Having achieved her major goals for the year, Rojas recorded three more victories at the end of the season, all of them beyond 15 metres. She won in Monaco with 15.01m, then dominated in Lausanne with 15.31m before wrapping up her season with victory at the Wanda Diamond League final (15.28m). 
<h2>Noah Lyles</h2>
From May until September, Noah Lyles simply did not slow down over 200m.
The US sprinter was undefeated in his specialist event this year, breaking 20 seconds in all 12 of his races over the distance, including heats and finals.
His season opener of 19.86 in Clermont was followed 12 days later with a marginally wind-aided 19.72 victory at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Doha. One month later, he clocked 19.61 to win at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in New York.
He was pushed by rising sprint star Erriyon Knighton at the US Championships, but Lyles still emerged victorious, winning in 19.67 to the teenager&rsquo;s 19.69. His next focus was defending his title at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22.
Lyles did not disappoint. And despite it being the World Championships final, Lyles produced one of his most dominant runs of the year to lead a US sweep of the medals, winning by almost half a second in 19.31 to break Michael Johnson&rsquo;s long-standing US record and move to third on the world all-time list. Two days later, Lyles formed part of USA&rsquo;s silver medal-winning 4x100m team. 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WRc6cSrat74" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 He maintained his momentum after the World Championships, winning the 200m in Monaco (19.46) and Lausanne (19.56) before clocking a season&rsquo;s best of 9.95 to win the 100m in Berlin.
His season drew to a close at the Wanda Diamond League Final, where he ran a meeting record of 19.52 to win the series title &ndash; his fourth career Diamond Trophy in the 200m and fifth overall.

Shining a spotlight on the finalists for this year’s World Athlete of the Year awards

Spotlight on finalists: Yulimar Rojas and Noah Lyles

Two world record-breakers will be among the athletes in action at the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais as Mondo Duplantis and Jakob Ingebrigtsen have been announced for the fifth Gold level meeting in the 2023 World Athletics Indoor Tour&nbsp;series.
Returning to compete in Lievin, France, on 14 February, Ingebrigtsen will be back at the scene of the world indoor 1500m record he set earlier this year. Duplantis, meanwhile, will be on the hunt for another win after his victories in Lievin in 2020 and 2021.
With his 3:30.60 performance in February, Norway&rsquo;s Ingebrigtsen took almost half a second off the previous world record that had been set by Samuel Tefera in 2019. A month later, Ingebrigtsen claimed silver behind Tefera at the World Indoor Championships before an outdoor season that featured world 5000m gold, world 1500m silver, a 1500m and 5000m double at the European Championships and a 1500m Diamond Trophy win.
Since last competing in Lievin, Sweden's Duplantis has improved the world pole vault record to 6.21m, first clearing 6.19m and 6.20m indoors in March, the latter mark gaining him world indoor gold, and then 6.21m outdoors when winning the world title in Oregon in July.
He followed that with victories at the European Championships and Wanda Diamond League Final. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62112341c159a8a6c7525818.jpg" alt="Mondo Duplantis competes at the 2022 Muller Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham" />
Mondo Duplantis (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
</div>
The Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais is the fifth of the seven meetings that in 2023 will make up the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold series. The season starts in Karlsruhe, Germany, on 27 January before stops in Boston, Torun, New York, Lievin, Madrid and Birmingham.
Keely Hodgkinson and Jake Wightman have already been announced for the Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final, while Katie Nageotte and Sandi Morris have been named for the Millrose Games in New York.
The men&rsquo;s 1500m is among the <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-tour/news/world-indoor-tour-calendar-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scoring disciplines</a> on the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold for 2023.. Each athlete&rsquo;s best three results will count towards their overall point score. The athlete with the most points in each scoring discipline at the end of the tour will be declared the winner and will be awarded a USD$10,000 bonus. They will also be offered a wild card entry for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24.
For further information on the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais, visit the <a href="https://meetinglievin.com/en/blog-english/345-armand-duplantis-and-jakob-ingebrigtsen-come-back" target="_blank" rel="noopener">event website</a>.&nbsp;
<h3> 2023 World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold calendar</h3>
27 Jan &ndash; Init Indoor Meeting, Karlsruhe, Germany 4 Feb &ndash; New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, Boston, USA 8 Feb &ndash; ORLEN Copernicus Cup, Torun, Poland 11 Feb &ndash; Millrose Games, New York, USA 14 Feb &ndash; Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais, Lievin, France 22 Feb &ndash; World Indoor Tour Madrid, Madrid, Spain 25 Feb &ndash; Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final, Birmingham, UK&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-tour/calendar-results?season=2022%2F23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full calendar of all Gold, Silver, Bronze and Challenger World Athletics Indoor Tour meetings</a>

Mondo Duplantis and Jakob Ingebrigtsen have been announced for the fifth Gold level meeting in the 2023 World Athletics Indoor Tour

World record-holders Duplantis and Ingebrigtsen to return to Lievin

As the World Athletics Awards 2022 draws near, we shine a spotlight on the finalists for the World Athlete of the Year awards.
The World Athletes of the Year will be announced on World Athletics&rsquo; social media platforms in early December, as part of the World Athletics Awards 2022. 
<h2>Sydney McLaughlin</h2>
How do you follow a year that featured two world records and two global gold medal wins? If you&rsquo;re Sydney McLaughlin, then you repeat those remarkable feats.
In 2022, the 23-year-old improved her own world 400m hurdles record by 0.78, first to 51.41 at the US Championships and then to an awe-inspiring 50.68 at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22. That secured her a first individual senior world title, and she followed it by anchoring the US team to another 4x400m victory.
McLaughlin started her season with a 100m hurdles win at the end of April and ran her first 400m hurdles race of the year in Nashville at the start of June, making a statement with a 51.61 win. At that point it was the third-fastest time ever recorded behind her own world record of 51.46 and Dalilah Muhammad&rsquo;s 51.58 from the Tokyo Olympics, but those were not to remain history&rsquo;s three fastest times for long.
Lining up at the US Championships at Hayward Field, McLaughlin cruised through her heat and semifinal before making her world record-breaking run in the final look similarly effortless. Crossing the finish line with 51.41 on the clock, she improved the world record by 0.05.
After that race, providing a hint of what could still be to come, she said: &ldquo;I think there&rsquo;s a little bit more in the tank there, so hopefully when it&rsquo;s time we can just empty it completely.&rdquo;
Turns out, there was quite a lot left in the tank.
Back at Hayward Field a month later, and having again eased through the earlier rounds, McLaughlin obliterated her previous best, running 50.68 as the home crowd and the rest of the world watched on in amazement. 
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 &ldquo;The sport is getting faster and faster,&rdquo; said McLaughlin, who was followed over the finish line by Femke Bol and Muhammad, respectively the third- and second-fastest women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles in history. &ldquo;Just figuring out what barriers can be broken. I only get faster from here.&rdquo;
Two days later, McLaughlin returned to the track to clock a 47.91 anchor leg and help the home team to secure a dominant 4x400m win. She then closed her season with a 51.68 win at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Szekesfehervar &ndash; a European all-comers&rsquo; record and the sixth fastest time ever recorded.
As attention turns to 2023 and the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, she said: &ldquo;We are excited to be here (in Hungary) and scouting out everything ahead of the worlds next year.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
<h2>Eliud Kipchoge</h2>
Eliud Kipchoge continues to live up to his mantra: no human is limited. In 2022, not only did the Kenyan marathon great win two major races in Tokyo and Berlin, but he also improved his own world record to 2:01:09 &ndash; more than half a minute faster than any other athlete has ever achieved.
His first race of the year came in Tokyo in March, back in the city where he won his second Olympic marathon title last year. Before the race, Kipchoge had written 'ST:RO:NG' instead of numbers on his finish time prediction card and he achieved that aim, running 2:02:40 for a Japanese all-comers' record and the fourth-fastest time ever recorded in a record-eligible event behind his own world record of 2:01:39 set in Berlin in 2018.
&ldquo;I said I wanted to run strong in Japan and I did, I ran a course record,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I am really happy I won another major marathon.&rdquo;
It put him a step closer to another of his aims - winning each of the six Abbott World Marathon Majors. After victories in London, Berlin, Chicago and now Tokyo &ndash; all also World Athletics Elite Platinum Label road races &ndash; the 38-year-old will target Boston and New York City at some point in the future to compete the set.
Before that, however, he had business to attend to in Berlin.
In September, back at the scene of his 2018 world record, Kipchoge pushed the global mark further out of reach for the rest of the distance-running world. Clocking 2:01:09, he took half a minute off his previous world record and won by almost five minutes. 
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 Unlike his last world record run, Kipchoge went out hard and was not just comfortably inside world record pace, but also inside a projected two-hour finish as the half way point was passed in 59:50.
Although his pace then started to drop slightly, Kipchoge always remained on world record tempo.
"I wanted to run the first half so fast. No limitations,&rdquo; he said. "After 38km I knew I would be capable of breaking the world record.&rdquo;

Spotlight on finalists: Sydney McLaughlin and Eliud Kipchoge

As the World Athletics Awards 2022 draws near, we shine a spotlight on the finalists for the World Athlete of the Year awards.
The World Athletes of the Year will be announced on World Athletics&rsquo; social media platforms in early December, as part of the World Athletics Awards 2022. 
<h2>Kimberly Garcia</h2>
After a decade of breaking national records and establishing herself as the leading athlete in Peru, Kimberly Garcia&rsquo;s year-on-year progress continued in 2022 when she stepped up to become the best race walker in the entire world.
Her season started in February with silver in the 20km at the South American Race Walking Championships, adding to the gold she won in 2014 and her bronze from 2018 to complete a full set of medals from the continental event.
One month later, she earned her first ever podium finish at a global championship event, placing third in the 20km at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Muscat 22.
Garcia made her 35km debut in Dudince in April, finishing second in a South American record of 2:43:19. May was a much busier month, but she maintained her consistency with a 20km victory in Rio Maior, a 10km runner-up finish in Madrid, a 10,000m silver medal at the Ibero-American Championships and a 20km PB of 1:28:38 in La Coruna, again finishing second.
Following a busy few months, she opted not to race again until the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, where she was entered for both the 20km and 35km events. Although she was considered a strong medal contender in both events, few would have predicted what was to unfold in Oregon. 
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 At the start of the championships, she won the 20km convincingly in a national record of 1:26:58, finishing 33 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor and, more significantly, becoming the first athlete from Peru to win a world title.
One week later, she doubled her country&rsquo;s all-time gold medal haul at the World Championships when she won the 35km by an even bigger margin, this time 47 seconds, in a South American record of 2:39:16, becoming the first woman to win two race walking titles at one global championships.
Unsurprisingly, she ended the year world ranked No.1 in both the 20km and 35km. 
<h2>Jakob Ingebrigtsen</h2>
He may have still only been 21 at the start of this year, but Jakob Ingebrigtsen already had numerous continental titles to his name, as well as Olympic gold. But in 2022 he ticked off two more boxes on his ever-growing list of career accomplishments.
The first of those &ndash; a world record &ndash; came in his season opener in Lievin in February. Running a perfect race in the 1500m at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting, the Norwegian runner stopped the clock at 3:30.60 to take almost half a second off the previous world indoor record.
A bout of Covid prevented him from being at his best at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, but he still managed to emerge with the silver medal.
He returned to winning ways during the outdoor season and won all but one of his races at 1500m and above. His early season streak included mile victories at the Wanda Diamond League meetings in Eugene and Oslo; the latter with a world-leading national record of 3:46.46.
Ingebrigtsen was surprisingly beaten in his specialist discipline at the World Championships, but he rebounded five days later to win the 5000m, earning his first world title in athletics. 
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 One month later, he successfully defended his European titles over 1500m and 5000m with the finals of those races just two days apart.
His winning habit continued through the end of the season as he won the 1500m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Lausanne in a world-leading 3:29.05 and he then improved that time with his 3:29.02 victory at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Zurich.
&nbsp;

Spotlight on finalists: Kimberly Garcia and Jakob Ingebrigtsen

The Cross Internacional de It&aacute;lica in Santiponce on the outskirts of the Spanish city of Seville &ndash; the sixth Gold standard meeting in the current World Athletics Cross Country Tour &ndash; always boasts a mouth-watering line-up, and this year&rsquo;s race on Sunday (20) is no exception.
The men&rsquo;s 10.1km contest features world 10,000m silver medallist Stanley Waithaka of Kenya, who&nbsp;finished second in Oregon to take his first senior global medal.
He will face stiff opposition from the first four finishers at last weekend&rsquo;s Cross Country Tour race in Atapuerca in the form of Thierry Ndikumwenayo, Kenya's Levy Kibet, Burundi&rsquo;s Rodrigue Kwizera and Eritrea's Merhawi Mebrahtu.
After living in the country for eight years, Ndikumwenayo was granted Spanish nationality 10 days ago, but the 25-year-old from Burundi is not yet eligible to represent Spain in international events. He proved to be in stellar form in Atapuerca and will aim to maintain that momentum on Sunday while his closest opponent there, Kibet, will be eager to confirm his runner-up place ahead of Kwizera was no fluke.
Defending champion Kwizera reportedly resumed training for this cross-country season a bit later than usual after spending some weeks in his native Burundi for family matters, but the 22-year-old is rounding into form and he should be in contention for a podium place once again. Meanwhile teenager Mebrahtu, the world U20 5000m silver medallist, will also be a contender after his recent top-four finishes in Soria and Atapuerca.
Spanish hopes rest mainly on the in-form Nassim Hassaous, a top-10 finisher in all his appearances so far this cross country campaign.
Entries for the women&rsquo;s race, also contested over 10.1km, are headed by Uganda's Olympic steeplechase champion Peruth Chemutai. Illness prevented the 23-year-old from competing in Atapuerca last weekend, but she now seems fully recovered and ready for her first outing since taking bronze at the Commonwealth Games in August.
Despite the longer than usual distance, Kenya's 2021 world U20 1500m champion Purity Chepkirui should play a key role on Sunday following her overwhelming win in San Sebasti&aacute;n two weeks ago and her runner-up finish in Atapuerca last Sunday.
She will be joined by her fellow Kenyan Nancy Jepleting, winner in Zaragoza last month, while Ethiopia will be represented by Meselu Berhe, runner-up in San Sebasti&aacute;n and seventh in Atapuerca.
Turkey's four-time European cross-country champion Yasemin Can is also entered, as is Portugal's 2019 European U20 3000m silver medallist Mariana Machado, and Spain&rsquo;s Isabel Barreiro, who finished just six seconds behind Can last weekend.
Previous winners in Santiponce include Kenenisa Bekele (2003, 2004 and 2007), Fernando Mamede (1984 and 1985), Paul Kipkoech (1987 and 1988), Paul Tergat (1998 and 1999), Moses Kipsiro (2008 and 2009), Leonard Komon (2010 and 2011), Linet Masai (2010 and 2012) and Paula Radcliffe (2001), among others.
Weather forecasters predict a sunny day and temperatures in the 16-18C range by the time of the event.
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics

Waithaka and Ndikumwenayo set to clash in the men's race, Olympic steeplechase champion Chemutai confirmed in women's race

Waithaka and Chemutai ready to star in Seville

Britain's world 1500m champion Jake Wightman is to step up in distance and take on the 2000m when he races at the Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final, part of the 2023&nbsp;World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold&nbsp;series, at the Utilita Arena on 25 February.
Wightman has enjoyed a landmark 2022 track season as he added European 800m silver and Commonwealth 1500m bronze to his ever-growing medal collection, following his triumph in Oregon where he beat Norway's Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen to world gold.
As he sets his targets for 2023, the Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final will see Wightman keen to impress the Utilita Arena&nbsp;crowd as he competes in front of home support for the first time since the Commonwealth Games in August.
The 2000m has an illustrious history at the Birmingham venue as it is where Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele set the world indoor best of&nbsp;4:49.99 back in 2007.
"When I was offered the chance to run indoors over 2000m in Birmingham next February, I couldn&rsquo;t resist," said Wightman. "I love testing myself over-distance and the chance to go for a fast time on that track isn&rsquo;t something you get to do every day.
"The Birmingham crowd have always been amazing for me and the reception I got at the Commonwealth Games this summer after winning the World Championships was pretty memorable. If they can make half that noise for me in February, I&rsquo;ll be well on my way to a fast time."
The Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final is the last of the seven meetings that in 2023 will make up the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold series. The season starts in Karlsruhe, Germany, on 27 January before stops in Boston, Torun, New York, Lievin, Madrid and then Birmingham.
Keely Hodgkinson has already been announced for the&nbsp;Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final, while&nbsp;Katie Nageotte and Sandi Morris have been named for the Millrose Games in New York.
The <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-tour/news/world-indoor-tour-calendar-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scoring disciplines</a> on the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold&nbsp;rotate each year. Each athlete&rsquo;s best three results will count towards their overall point score. The athlete with the most points in each scoring discipline at the end of the tour will be declared the winner and will be awarded a USD$10,000 bonus. They will also be offered a wild card entry for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24.
For further information on the Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final, visit the <a href="https://www.britishathletics.org.uk/news-and-features/wightman-lines-up-for-the-birmingham-world-indoor-tour-final/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">event website</a>.
Organisers for World Athletics 
<h3>2023 World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold calendar</h3>
27 Jan &ndash; Init Indoor Meeting, Karlsruhe, Germany 4 Feb &ndash; New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, Boston, USA 8 Feb &ndash; ORLEN Copernicus Cup, Torun, Poland 11 Feb &ndash; Millrose Games, New York, USA 14 Feb &ndash; Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais, Lievin, France 22 Feb &ndash; World Indoor Tour Madrid, Madrid, Spain 25 Feb &ndash; Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final, Birmingham, UK&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-tour/calendar-results?season=2022%2F23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full calendar of all Gold, Silver, Bronze and Challenger World Athletics Indoor Tour meetings</a>

The world 1500m champion is to step up in distance when he races at the Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final

Wightman set for 2000m test in Birmingham

A dinner was held at the Spegelsalen, Grand Hotel, in Stockholm on Monday (14) to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the establishment of the Swedish Central Association for the Promotion of Athletics (SCIF) and the 110th anniversary since the Games of the V Olympiad, Stockholm 1912.
The Spegelsalen, the "Hall of Mirrors", was the room in which the first Nobel Prize ceremony and banquet took place in 1901.
To mark these significant anniversaries, the <a href="https://scif.se/about-scif/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SCIF</a> and the <a href="https://worldathletics.org/heritage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Museum of World Athletics (MOWA)</a> have signed a four-year memorandum of understanding (MoU).
SCIF and MOWA will work together to promote each other's activities, which celebrate and honour sport history. The SCIF and World Athletics have been historically entwined since the birth on 17 July 1912 &ndash; during the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games &ndash; of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which was renamed World Athletics in 2019.
The SCIF successfully led the Swedish bid for those Games and constructed the Olympic Stadium in which they were held. That is where its offices are still located today. Furthermore, World Athletics&rsquo; first president J Sigfried Edstr&ouml;m (1912-1946) was a board member of SCIF during his career as a sports administrator. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/637665843951d4b51abfaf89.jpg" alt="The Stockholm Olympic Stadium" />
The Stockholm Olympic Stadium (&copy; World Athletics Heritage)
</div>
 When the World Athletics Heritage Collection, which is displayed in MOWA, was created in 2018, SCIF was one of the first to donate artefacts. The birchwood spear with which Eric Lemming won the 1912 Olympic javelin throw title, and an original poster from the Stockholm Games, were presented to World Athletics President Sebastian Coe at a <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/news/iaaf-news/heritage-collection-owens-blankers-koen-szewi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Heritage Night in Monaco on 2 December 2018</a>.
More recently, <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/heritage/news/lemming-thorpe-heritage-plaque-stockholm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">two World Athletics Heritage Plaques have been unveiled at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium</a>, marking the achievements of Lemming and Jim Thorpe, and the foundation of World Athletics.
&ldquo;The SCIF and World Athletics have been so tightly braided together from birth, that the establishment of this collaboration seems natural, and I am so pleased that it is now also put in writing,&rdquo; said SCIF President Rajne Soderberg. &ldquo;I am looking forward to striving together to care for and promote athletics history as part of our goal to 'make history come alive'."
World Athletics Heritage Director Chris Turner commented: &ldquo;Our two organisations and the Swedish capital have been historically joined at the hip since the foundation of World Athletics in Stockholm over a century ago. Five hundred metres away from the Grand Hotel, the venue of Monday&rsquo;s anniversary dinner, stands the Swedish Parliament building in which World Athletics was created. &ldquo;SCIF and MOWA are natural heritage soulmates. We have similar visions for honouring and celebrating sports history, whether via Stockholm Olympic Stadium&rsquo;s Walk of Fame or the World Athletics Heritage Plaque programme around the world. Both associations also preserve historic collections of sporting artefacts. The possible synergies are many. We hope the MoU will help us more effectively promote the rich sporting traditions of which we are the guardians.&rdquo;
MOWA &amp; World Athletics Heritage

SCIF and MOWA will work together to promote activities that celebrate and honour sport history

SCIF celebrates 125th anniversary and signs MoU with MOWA

As the World Athletics Awards 2022 draws near, we shine a spotlight on the finalists for the World Athlete of the Year awards.
The World Athletes of the Year will be announced on World Athletics&rsquo; social media platforms in early December, as part of the World Athletics Awards 2022.
&nbsp;
<h2>Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce</h2>
To put Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce&rsquo;s incredible consistency in 2022 into context, just five women in history have ever broken 10.70 for 100m. Fraser-Pryce surpassed that mark seven times throughout the season and one of those performances &ndash; her 10.67 in Oregon &ndash; saw the Jamaican become the first athlete to win five world titles in a single individual running event.
In her 15th season of international racing, the 35-year-old sprint star continued to blaze a trail.
She started her year with a 200m race in Kingston before opening her 100m campaign in style in Nairobi. Running 10.67 &ndash; a time she would match on three other occasions in the months to follow &ndash; Fraser-Pryce achieved the fastest ever women&rsquo;s 100m season opener. It set the tone for all that was to come.
A time of 10.67 also secured her victory at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Paris in June before she turned her attention to the Jamaican Championships and then the World Athletics Championships Oregon22. Back on the global stage, she raced seven times in eight days and won three medals &ndash; her fifth world 100m crown followed by silver medals in the 200m and 4x100m to take her career tally of global medals to 23, with 14 of those being gold.
In Oregon she led a Jamaican sweep of the medals in what was the deepest ever women&rsquo;s World Championships 100m final, as seven of the eight finalists dipped under 11 seconds.
"I feel blessed to have this talent and to continue to do it at 35, (after) having a baby, still going, and hopefully inspiring women that they can make their own journey," she said. 
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 After that, her own journey continued at the Diamond League meeting in Silesia where Fraser-Pryce again dipped under 10.70 with a winning 10.66. She then ran 10.67 to win in Szekesfehervar and improved her world lead to 10.62 &ndash; a time that only she and two other athletes have ever bettered &ndash; to win in Monaco.
She clocked 10.74 for the runner-up spot in Brussels and returned to the top in Zurich, clocking 10.65 to win the fifth Diamond Trophy of her career.
&ldquo;I am very proud that I came away with a 10.65,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I started (the season) with a 10.6 and I finish with a 10.6, so there is nothing more I could ask for.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
<h2>Soufiane El Bakkali</h2>
Morocco&rsquo;s Soufiane El Bakkali started the year as an Olympic champion and ended it as a world title winner, doubling his career tally of global gold medals with victory at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22.
He too achieved great consistency, remaining unbeaten throughout the season and running a world lead of 7:58.28 in front of a delighted home crowd at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Rabat.
The 26-year-old made his season debut at the Diamond League in Doha, winning there in 8:09.66. With his focus on Oregon, he raced just once more before lining up at Hayward Field, sending a message to his rivals with that world-leading performance in Rabat.
&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t describe my happiness in winning this race,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Achieving a world lead and a meeting record in front of a home audience is just incredible.&rdquo;
Once in Oregon &ndash; El Bakkali&rsquo;s second visit to the United States after he competed in the same city at the 2014 World U20 Championships &ndash; his experience paid off as he timed his kick to perfection in a tactical race.
Surging away with 200 metres to go, El Bakkali beat Ethiopia&rsquo;s Lamecha Girma and Kenya&rsquo;s Conseslus Kipruto to complete his set of World Championships medals, adding a gold to the silver he won in London in 2017 and the bronze he claimed in Doha in 2019.
His celebrations included taking a dip in the water jump on his victory lap. 
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 World gold secured, he turned his attention to the Diamond League Final and after a win in Lausanne in 8:02.45 he returned to Switzerland to claim his first Diamond Trophy in Zurich.
&ldquo;This year was amazing for me, winning the World Championships and the Diamond race,&rdquo; he reflected. &ldquo;What a wonderful season. I won so many races.&rdquo;
One more win was still to come, as he capped his season with an African best in Zagreb. Running 5:14.06 in the 2000m steeplechase, he moved to third on the world all-time list for the event.

Spotlight on finalists: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Soufiane El Bakkali

As the World Athletics Awards 2022 draws near, we shine a spotlight on the finalists for the World Athlete of the Year awards.
The World Athletes of the Year will be announced on World Athletics&rsquo; social media platforms in early December, as part of the World Athletics Awards 2022.
&nbsp;
<h2>Tobi Amusan</h2>
Nigeria&rsquo;s Tobi Amusan had been Africa&rsquo;s leading sprint hurdler for quite some time, winning gold at the past two African Games and at the 2018 African Championships. But in 2022, after finishing fourth at the past two global events, the 25-year-old finally struck gold and established herself as the world No.1 in the 100m hurdles.
Not only did Amusan end her season as the world leader and world champion. Thanks to her stunning world record run of 12.12 in the semifinals at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, she is now the fastest woman in history for the 100m hurdles.
Her season started, as it often does, with some races in the US, where she is based for much of the year. The early signs were promising, as she sped to PBs of 11.14 for 100m and 22.66 for 200m. Her first race in her specialist distance was a wind-assisted 12.58 clocking &ndash; her fastest ever season debut.
Amusan never shied away from lining up against the world&rsquo;s best sprint hurdlers and regularly raced against the likes of Jasmine Camacho-Quinn and Kendra Harrison, the Olympic gold and silver medallists respectively. Once the Wanda Diamond League series got under way in mid-May, Amusan didn&rsquo;t finish outside of the top two in any of her races.
From that point onwards, Amusan won nine of her 14 races in what became a record year for depth in the event, featuring five of the 10 fastest sprint hurdlers in history.
Amusan&rsquo;s first big victory of 2022 came at the African Championships, where she successfully defended her title in a wind-assisted 12.57. She matched that mark just five days later, this time with legal wind, when winning in Turku.
Later that week, Amusan lowered her own African record to 12.41 when winning at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Paris. It stood as her PB for little more than a month, until she got to the World Championships.
Her first-round heat victory of 12.40 &ndash; faster than the gold-medal-winning times at all but four editions of the World Championships &ndash; made Amusan&rsquo;s intentions clear. Even so, few could have predicted what was to come in the semifinals the next day. 
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 Looking controlled and sharp throughout, Amusan executed a near-perfect race in the semifinals and crossed the line in 12.12, an 0.08 improvement on the world record. Such was the shock of her performance &ndash; as well as some of the PBs set by other athletes in the race &ndash; some onlookers wondered whether there had been a timing malfunction in the race. But any doubts were soon put to bed in the final roughly an hour later when Amusan sped to victory in a wind-assisted 12.06 (2.5m/s).
Two weeks after her first global triumph, Amusan successfully defended her Commonwealth title in a Games record of 12.30. She capped her season with victory in the Wanda Diamond League final in a meeting record of 12.29.
&nbsp;
<h2>Mondo Duplantis</h2>
The majority of international pole vaulters can only ever dream about clearing six metres. For a select few, it will become a reality once or twice during their careers.
For Mondo Duplantis, it is almost a weekly occurrence.
Just when you think the Swedish pole vaulter could not be more dominant, he has a season like 2022, during which he set three world records, won two global titles, won 18 of his 19 competitions, and vaulted six metres or higher 23 times.
Duplantis, despite only just turning 23, now has more six-metre clearances than any other pole vaulter in history.
His record-breaking 2022 campaign began with an undefeated indoor season, during which he improved with each competition. He produced winning vaults of 6.02m, 6.03m, 6.04m and 6.05m before setting a world record of 6.19m in Belgrade. He returned to the Serbian capital two weeks later for the World Athletics Indoor Championships, where he struck gold with 6.20m, another improvement on his own world record.
He was then victorious on the Wanda Diamond League circuit, winning in Doha, Eugene, Oslo and Stockholm &ndash; the latter with an outdoor best of 6.16m, the highest ever outdoor vault in history. It was the perfect warm-up for the World Championships three weeks later. 
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 As the last athlete competing on the final day of competition at the World Championships in Oregon, all eyes were on Duplantis. He didn&rsquo;t disappoint, soaring over 6.21m on his second attempt at that height and &ndash; remarkably &ndash; with room to spare.
Less than a month later, he retained his European title with a championship record of 6.06m in a competition where he registered no misses.
He wrapped up his season with victories at the Wanda Diamond League meetings in Lausanne and Zurich. The rare loss he suffered in Brussels in between those meetings made no dent on what was otherwise an incredible 2022 campaign.

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Digital exhibition: 2022 World Athletics Photograph of the Year shortlisted images

World champions Lyles and Wightman return to Boston