In this “World Athlete of the Year” category, Kendricks is one of the Top 10 finalists, along with high jump world champion Mutaz Essa Barshim, hammer champion Pawel Fajdek, Mo Farah (5,000 meter and 10,000 meter champion), Elijah Manangoi (1,500 meter champion), long jump champion Luvo Manyonga, Omar McLeod (110 meter hurdles champion), triple jump champion Christian Taylor (and fellow American), 400 meter champion Wayde van Niekerk and javelin champion Johannes Vetter.
This year, Kendricks was honored as the world champion in pole vault at the World Championships in London, as well as the IAAF Diamond League champion; Kendricks was undefeated in all 17 of his competitions this season. He also set a personal best of 6.00 meters at the United States championships, where he was able to join the elite six meter club, along with Jeff Hartwig, Toby Stevenson, Tim Mack and Brad Walker.
For the “IAAF World Athlete of the Year” awards, the winners are determined partly by the IAAF Council and the IAAF Family by casting their votes via email, while fans can vote online via the IAAF’s social media platforms (Facebook and Twitter). There are individual graphics posted for each nominee on Facebook and Twitter, and a like on Facebook, or a retweet on Twitter will be counted as a single vote. The IAAF Council’s vote counts for one half of the final result (50 percent), while the IAAF Family’s votes and the public votes will each count for 25 percent of the final vote. The voting will close on October 16, and the winners will be announced live on stage at the 2017 IAAF Athletics Awards on November 24 in Monaco.
Read More: Digital Journal chatted with Sam Kendricks about his 2017 World Championship gold medal win.
