Sawe's nomination follows an extraordinary performance at the London Marathon in April, where he clocked 1:59:30 to become the first man to break the sub two-hour barrier in the 42km race.
Marathon world record holder Sabastian Sawe has secured a place among the three finalists for the 2026 World Athletics Men's World Athlete of the Year Award following a historic season on the roads.
Sawe's nomination follows an extraordinary performance at the London Marathon in April, where he clocked 1:59:30 to become the first man to break the sub two-hour barrier in the 42km race.
The 31-year-old defended his title in style, shaving 65 seconds off the previous record of 2:00:35 set by his Kenyan compatriot Kelvin Kiptum in 2023.
Sawe will now battle for the prestigious prize with Swedish pole vault record holder Mondo Duplantis and 400m hurdles record holder Alison dos Santos from Brazil.
Duplantis had a remarkable season, improving his world pole vault record to 6.31m for the 15th time in his career at his home meeting, the Mondo Classic in Uppsala, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting capped by World Ultimate, world indoor and European titles.
Dos Santos on the other hand destroyed the 400m hurdles field in August during the Zurich Diamond League Meeting, setting a world record of 45.80.
