Kenyan distance runner Chepkoech makes final 5 for IAAF best athlete award

NAIROBI -- World steeplechase record holder Beatrice Chepkoech of Kenya has made the cut in the final five athletes eyeing the 2018 IAAF Female Athlete of the Year award.

"I want to win the athlete of the year award but the more important assignment for me is to run well and win the world title in Qatar next year," Chepkoech said on Monday from Eldoret.

The 27-year-old missed out on the Olympics title in Rio Olympics back in 2016 finishing fourth while she had to swallow the bitter pill in London World Championships in 2017 when she was elbowed out of the medal bracket yet again, finishing fourth.

Chepkoech, who is the Continental Cup and Africa 3,000m steeplechase champion, will now battle it out with sprinter Dina Asher-Smith of Britain, triple/long jumper Caterine Ibarguen from Colombia, Shaunae Miller-Uibo (Bahamas) and heptathlon athlete Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium, who won it in 2017.

"The five athletes, who represent five countries from four Area associations, have illustrated excellence across nearly all athletics disciplines in 2018," said a statement from International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

The IAAF Council and the IAAF Family cast their votes by email, while fans voted online via the IAAF's social media platforms.

The IAAF Council's vote counted for 50 percent of the result, while the IAAF Family's votes and the public votes each counted for 25 percent of the final result. Voting closed on Nov 12.

The male and female world athletes of the year will be announced at the IAAF Athletics Awards gala on Dec 4 in Monaco.

The current World 800m record holder David Rudisha is the only Kenyan athlete to have won the award in 2010.

This year, Chpkoech won the World steeplechase record by eight seconds, backed up by the third-quickest mark of all time. She was also the winner of seven out of eight steeplechase finals including the IAAF Continental Cup, African Championships and IAAF Diamond League final.

However, her biggest miss was at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia where she won silver at 1,500m in personal best of 4:03.09.

Chepkoech won four of her five diamond league races in the 3,000m this season with her victory in Monaco on July 20 producing a world record time of 8:44.32, making her the first woman run under eight minute and 50 seconds. This broke Kenya-turned Bahraini Ruth Jebet's previous record of 8:52.78.