Nov 30 (Reuters) – Sweden’s pole vault sensation Mondo Duplantis and American 400 metres World champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone were named World Athletes of the Year on Sunday.
Duplantis, along with retaining his gold medal at the World Championships in Tokyo in September, continued his dominance of the event, breaking his own world record another four times and was undefeated in 16 competitions.
The 26-year-old also won a fifth consecutive Diamond League title.
“I hope to keep pushing it. I hope to keep irritating everyone who has to vote for me for years to come,” Duplantis said.
“It’s really important for me to win this for the field eventers. It’s very special, I’m going to really cherish this one.”
McLaughlin-Levrone, like Duplantis, is also undefeated for two years, in both the 400m flat, her main event in 2025, and in the 400m hurdles.
Her winning time of 47.78 in Tokyo was the second-fastest 400m of all time and the 26-year-old became the first athlete to have ever won world titles in both the 400m flat and 400m hurdles.
She also formed part of the U.S. 4x400m gold medal winning relay team at the World Championships.
“Wow, I’m honestly blown away to win this. Thank you so much, World Athletics, for this honour and recognition,” McLaughlin-Levrone said.
“The culmination of the season in Tokyo was a really special moment. For me, 2025 was a year of stepping outside of the comfort zone and pushing the bounds of what was mentally and physically possible.”
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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