IAAF Announces 2017 World Athlete of the Year Finalists

By Adam Kopet

The IAAF announced the finalists Monday for the 2017 IAAF World Athlete of the Year award.

The men's finalists are Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar, Mo Farah of Great Britain and Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa.

The women's finalists are Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia, Ekaterini Stefanidi of Greece and Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium.

The finalists, three men and three women, were voted on from an earlier pool of 10 men and 10 women. A three-way voting process determined the finalists, including votes from the IAAF Council, the IAAF Family and the public.

The male and female World Athlete of the Year will be announced Nov. 24 at the IAAF Athletics Awards 2017 in Monaco.