"It was a little confusing in the moment of what was actually happening" - Noah Lyles on six athletes being honored at World Athletics Awards
Noah Lyles was left startled on Monday night at the award ceremony of the World Athletics Awards. Six athletes, including Lyles, Faith Kipyegon, Tigist Assefa, Yulimar Rojas, Mondo Duplantis, and Kelvin Kiptum were presented with the Athlete of the Year award.
This was the first time in the award's history that multiple individuals were named Athlete of the Year as there had been only one recipient for the male and female categories in previous years.
During an interview post-ceremony, Noah Lyles said that all the athletes were unaware of what was happening when their names were called out for the Athlete of the Year award. The world champion added that while he agreed with the idea of six athletes being awarded, they should have been conveyed about the format change.
"Not what I expected to feel like. Nobody being prepared for what really happened tonight. I think everybody was caught off guard," said the sprinter. "Especially when we heard all of our names being called one after the other, it was a little confusing in the moment of what was actually happening."
"On one hand, I agree with the idea I just wish we knew that this is what was gonna happen, instead of having it happen after the five finalists who were chosen and then groups were gonna be made," Lyles added.
"I was confused as to why we had 10 athletes in the beginning. We were from all different categories. But we were all led to believe that we were all fighting for the same trophy," Noah Lyles said. "So again very very shocking. Big plot twist," added the world champion.
A look at six athletes awarded with the World Athletics Awards ft. Noah Lyles
Noah Lyles was crowned the World Athlete of the Year in track events for his dominating performance at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, where he clinched three gold medals including the men's 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay.
The female World Athlete of the Year award in track events was awarded to Faith Kipyegon for securing two gold medals in the Hungarian capital in the women's 1500m and 5000m.
Yulimar Rojas was crowned the Female World Athlete of the Year for field events following her fourth consecutive world title in the women's triple jump event. Swedish jumper Mondo Duplantis earned the Male World Athlete of the Year Award for field events after he cleared the 6.00m mark to record the best jump of 6.10m and secured a gold medal.
Tigist Assefa and Kelvin Kiptum were awarded the Female and Male World Athlete of the Year for Out of the Stadia events for their exceptional performances in 2023.