The majority of the world rooted for Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet when World Athletics announced the names of the nominees for the 2025 Female Track Athlete of the Year. Little did the fanbase know that even though the long-distance runners led the social media votes, the governing body decided to push Femke Bol and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone as the finalists. The inclusion of Femke Bol was already under severe criticism. But when she made it to the final, the netizens made the World Athletics feel their wrath.

According to ‘The Lap Count’, “Three-quarters of the vote tally comes from two places: the World Athletics Council and the ill-defined ‘World Athletics Family.’ The former, which accounts for 50% of the vote, consists of 26 members, eight of whom are European.” Additionally, there are three Africans and one American on the council. This got people wondering if homerism might be at play. 

Let’s get one thing straight. Both Bol and McLaughlin-Levrone are exceptional athletes and global superstars. In the 2025 season, Bol didn’t perform her best, at least not as good as the others in the nomination list. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden won three World titles. Beatrice Chebet set a 5000m world record and electrified the distance world all season. Faith Kipyegon led the fan vote. And yet, the final shortlist strategically bypassed them for two athletes who, by 2025 standards, didn’t have a historic season. Of course, that’s if we exclude McLaughlin-Levrone’s 47.78s 400m run at the World Athletics Championships, making her the second-fastest woman in the discipline. 

That’s where the issue becomes bigger than any individual athlete. 

And now that the finalists were revealed on November 4, 2025, the final decision appears to rest with fans who hold a World Athletics+ account and voted within the six-day window. Yet, the structure of the voting process has raised questions. The system feels tailor-made to keep athletes in the headlines during track and field’s quiet season. And Femke Bol’s inclusion makes that clearer. While other nominees won more golds at the Tokyo World Championships, Bol’s fifth consecutive Diamond League title in Zurich ultimately tipped the balance. Her selection, along with Sydney McLaughlin Levrone, suggests that World Athletics is prioritizing promotional goals over pure merit.

Of course, we’ll find that out on November 30. But ‘The Lap Count’ rightfully stated, “Given the governing body’s indomitable ability to direct resources and shape the narrative of the sport, it’s worth watching closely to know where exactly they’re trying to take us.” But as expected, not everyone is happy with the lineup. 

Former athlete and coach highlights the reality of the WA Awards 2025

Taking on his YouTube channel, David Robinson decided to weigh in on the finalists for the 2025 Female Track Athlete of the Year. According to him, Femke Bol and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone were good nominations, but the finalists should have been two other names. He claimed that if the authorities had put Bol and her rival in the list when considering their overall career stats, no one would have had a problem. But this list is purely based on the 2025 season, and that is why it has raised a lot of eyebrows.

Coach Rob said, “From what I understand, fan voting doesn’t necessarily support those two women being the nominees either. And I’m pretty sure the track and field community agrees that if we’re going off of actual performance without bias… if you actually just care about performance, we talk about records, medals, winning… all of it. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Beatrice Chebet, that’s probably where everything was supposed to land. And it didn’t.”

Robinson argued that track and field makes it incredibly hard for athletes to excel in their discipline and receive proper recognition for it. And the reason why Bol and Sydney’s inclusion created such an outburst is simply because no one really knows about the stakes. Nevertheless, it’s still going to be interesting to see who will win the award this year. What are your thoughts?