(switch to Women’s AOYs)
Track & Field News has been formally choosing an Athlete Of The Year since 1959, but unfortunately had to skip the pandemic year of ’20.
Our Men’s World Rankings began with the 1947 season, but for that year through the ’58 campaign, the concept of a formally chosen AOY didn’t exist in our pages.
Here’s the all-time men’s No. 1s, with the event(s) in which they made the World Rankings that year (if the events are out of normal event order, that reflects the existence of a “primary” discipline):
| 1950s |
| 1959 |
Martin Lauer (West Germany) |
110 Hurdles, Decathlon |
| 1960s |
| 1960 |
Rafer Johnson (USA) |
Decathlon |
| 1961 |
Ralph Boston (USA) |
Long Jump, 110 Hurdles |
| 1962 |
Peter Snell (New Zealand) |
800, 1500/Mile |
| 1963 |
CK Yang (Taiwan) |
Decathlon, Pole Vault |
| 1964 |
Peter Snell (New Zealand) |
800, 1500/Mile |
| 1965 |
Ron Clarke (Australia) |
5000, 10,000 |
| 1966 |
Jim Ryun (USA) |
1500/Mile, 800 |
| 1967 |
Jim Ryun (USA) |
1500/Mile |
| 1968 |
Bob Beamon (USA) |
Long Jump |
| 1969 |
Bill Toomey (USA) |
Decathlon |
| 1970s |
| 1970 |
Randy Matson (USA) |
Shot |
| 1971 |
Rod Milburn (USA) |
110 Hurdles |
| 1972 |
Lasse Viren (Finland) |
5000, 10,000 |
| 1973 |
Ben Jipcho (Kenya) |
1500/Mile, Steeple, 5000 |
| 1974 |
Rick Wohlhuter (USA) |
800, 1500/Mile |
| 1975 |
John Walker (New Zealand) |
800, 1500/Mile |
| 1976 |
Alberto Juantorena (Cuba) |
400, 800 |
| 1977 |
Alberto Juantorena (Cuba) |
400, 800 |
| 1978 |
Henry Rono (Kenya) |
Steeple, 5000, 10,000 |
| 1979 |
Seb Coe (Great Britain) |
800, 1500/Mile |
| 1980s |
| 1980 |
Edwin Moses (USA) |
400 Hurdles |
| 1981 |
Seb Coe (Great Britain) |
800, 1500/Mile |
| 1982 |
Carl Lewis (USA) |
100, 200, Long Jump |
| 1983 |
Carl Lewis (USA) |
100, 200, Long Jump |
| 1984 |
Carl Lewis (USA) |
100, 200, Long Jump |
| 1985 |
Saïd Aouita (Morocco) |
1500/Mile, 5000 |
| 1986 |
Yuriy Syedikh (Soviet Union) |
Hammer |
| 1987 |
*Saïd Aouita (Morocco) |
1500/Mile, 5000 |
| (*the original voting leader was Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson, but his AOY status was revoked after his admission to drug use) |
| 1988 |
Sergey Bubka (Soviet Union) |
Pole Vault |
| 1989 |
Roger Kingdom (USA) |
110 Hurdles |
| 1990s |
| 1990 |
Michael Johnson (USA) |
200, 400 |
| 1991 |
Sergey Bubka (Soviet Union) |
Pole Vault |
| 1992 |
Kevin Young (USA) |
400 Hurdles |
| 1993 |
Noureddine Morceli (Algeria) |
1500/Mile |
| 1994 |
Noureddine Morceli (Algeria) |
1500/Mile, 5000 |
| 1995 |
Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) |
5000, 10,000 |
| 1996 |
Michael Johnson (USA) |
200, 400 |
| 1997 |
Wilson Kipketer (Denmark) |
800 |
| 1998 |
Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) |
5000, 10,000 |
| 1999 |
Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) |
1500/Mile |
| 2000s |
| 2000 |
Virgilijus Alekna (Lithuania) |
Discus |
| 2001 |
Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) |
1500/Mile |
| 2002 |
Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) |
1500/Mile |
| 2003 |
Félix Sánchez (Dominican Republic) |
400 Hurdles |
| 2004 |
Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia) |
5000, 10,000 |
| 2005 |
Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia) |
5000, 10,000 |
| 2006 |
Asafa Powell (Jamaica) |
100 |
| 2007 |
Tyson Gay (USA) |
100, 200 |
| 2008 |
Usain Bolt (Jamaica) |
100, 200 |
| 2009 |
Usain Bolt (Jamaica) |
100, 200 |
| 2010s |
| 2010 |
David Rudisha (Kenya) |
800 |
| 2011 |
David Rudisha (Kenya) |
800 |
| 2012 |
David Rudisha (Kenya) |
800 |
| 2013 |
Bogdan Bondarenko (Ukraine) |
High Jump |
| 2014 |
Renaud Lavillenie (France) |
Pole Vault |
| 2015 |
Ashton Eaton (USA) |
Decathlon |
| 2016 |
Wayde van Niekerk (South Africa) |
400 |
| 2017 |
Mutaz Barshim (Qatar) |
High Jump |
| 2018 |
Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) |
Marathon |
| 2019 |
Karsten Warholm (Norway) |
400 Hurdles |
| 2020s |
| 2020 |
no voting done; pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis (Sweden) named “MVP” |
|
| 2021 |
Ryan Crouser (USA) |
Shot |