THE BATTLE FOR Men’s Performance Of The Year couldn’t have been closer, but the tussle on the women’s side wasn’t close. Yaroslava Mahuchikh was awarded the No. 1 position on 58% of the ballots as she easily topped AOY Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s total.
In all, 18 performances received recognition from our panelists in our 5-4-3-2-1 scoring system:
1. Yaroslava Mahuchikh’s 6-10¾/2.10 WR, 101 (14 No. 1s)
How old was the high jump WR when the year began? Would you believe 14 years older than Mahuchikh? But now Stefka Kostadinova is history and the young Ukrainian is paramount. “My coach told me that maybe I should stop because of the Olympic Games coming up — of course, that is more important — but I felt inside I could do it, and, to be honest, I wanted to try the World Record. And I did it on my first attempt.”
2. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s 50.37 WR, 89 (4)
A veteran in the POY department, SML was the winner in both ’21 and ’22, but couldn’t get past the new high jump standard. She expects more though, saying, “The event is just getting faster and faster. So much depth, always keeps me on my toes, makes me want to figure out ways to improve, and get better in the race. I love to be able to improve upon myself. I do think 49 is possible and I think the talent in front of you can do that. I don’t know when it’s possible, but I do think it’s out there, for sure.”
3. Ruth Chepngetich’s 2:09:56 WR, 61 (6)
The new marathon WR holder got the second most support for No. 1, but a quarter of the voters didn’t include her on their ballot at all, apparently an “it must be the shoes” reaction to her absolute crushing of the previous record. “My plan was 2:09, 2:10,” said the powerful Kenyan. “That was my dream, and it has come true.” She added, “I thought a lot about the World Record and I dedicate this race to Kelvin Kiptum. Now the record has come back to Kenya.”
=4. Beatrice Chebet’s 28:54.14 WR, 32
It was a tough year to score high, as evidenced by Chebet’s historic first breaking of the 29:00 barrier. Chebet, who had scored her second straight World XC title in March, said, “I knew that if I could do well in the 10K cross country, why couldn’t I do well in the 10K on the track?” “Because Gudaf [Tsegay] requested the World Record I said, ‘Let me go with her and see how my body responds.’ And the body responded well so I decided to go.”
=4. Faith Kipyegon’s 3:49.04 WR, 32
Kipyegon had only herself to chase on the all-time world 1500 list, but she was up to the task at the Paris DL, also the venue for Mahuchikh’s WR, racking up just the second sub-3:50 ever. “I am in the right direction towards the Olympics,” she said. “I have come from far because of the injury and recovery. After the Trials I knew that I was in World Record shape, I ran the fastest time in Kenya with the altitude. It showed me that I was capable of breaking the World Record again.”
Other Vote-Getters
6. Sifan Hassan’s 2:22:55 OG win, 14
7. Marileidy Paulino’s 48.17 OG win, 8
8. McLaughlin-Levrone’s 50.65 WR, 6
=9. Beatrice Chebet’s 14:28.56 OG win, 3
=9. Masai Russell’s 12.33 OG win, 3
=11. Femke Bol’s 49.17 WIR, 2
=11. Bol’s 48.00r OG mixed anchor, 2
=11. Gabby Thomas’s 21.83 OG win, 2
=14. Julien Alfred’s 10.72 OG win, 1
=14. Tara Davis-Woodhall’s 23-3½/7.10 OG win, 1
=14. Kipyegon’s 3:51.29 OG win, 1
=14. Yaimé Pérez’s 239-9/73.09 WL, 1
=14. Elle St. Pierre’s 8:20.87 WIC win, 1. ◻︎