Koech, Serem to battle Ethiopia’s Mehary for 2025 Men’s Rising Star Award

World Athletics has announced the three finalists for the 2025 Men’s Rising Star Award — and Kenyans dominate the shortlist, with two of the three nominees.

The award, which honors the year’s best u-20 athlete, will be presented at the World Athletics Awards on 30 November.

This year’s nominations recognize some of the sport’s most exciting young talents, following standout performances across major global competitions, including the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25.

Leading the Kenyan charge is Phanuel Koech, who made history earlier this season by breaking the world u-20 1500m record.

Few had heard of Koech prior to the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Paris two months ago. But the Kenyan teenager, in what was just his second 1500m race, catapulted himself into the sport’s consciousness by finishing second in a highly competitive field, breaking the u-20 record with 3:27.72.

His time also propelled him to ninth on the senior world all-time list, bumping Olympic bronze medalist Yared Nuguse out of the top 10. The world record (3:26.00) is held by Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj from 1998.

One month later in London, in Koech’s next Diamond League appearance, he won in 3:28.82 and beat world champion Josh Kerr, among others.

When asked which performance he values most – the world U20 record or a Diamond League victory – he said the latter.

“I am looking ahead; I am no longer focusing on the u-20 category,” he said.

“While I value the world record I ran in Paris, which will stay in the history books as a great moment in my career, beating Josh Kerr at the London Diamond League was a greater moment for me as it shows the potential I have and that I am now able to compete against senior athletes.”

In between his races in Paris and London, Koech also won at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Ostrava, clocking 3:29.05. He now owns three of the four fastest 1500m times by an u-20 athlete, but he insists he has never focused on chasing specific times or records.

His goal for London, in fact, was to win as he’d been told it would act as his trials for the World Championships in Tokyo. His Paris outing, meanwhile, was more about gaining valuable experience.

“Running my first Diamond League race in Paris, I had no experience but believed I had the potential,” said the 19-year-old. “I wanted to see what would happen if I reached the 300m mark with the leading contenders.

At the Tokyo World Championships, Koech fell during Heat 4 of the first round and finished 12th, thus being eliminated from advancing to the semi-final. The top six athletes in each heat advance to the semis.

In a video shared online, Sweden’s Samuel Pihlström appeared to give Koech a slight nudge on the back, causing him to trip and tumble to the ground.

Kenya appealed for the 18-year-old to advance to the semi-final, but the appeal was rejected.

He is joined by compatriot Edmund Serem, who impressed on the world stage with a bronze medal in the 3,000m steeplechase at the Tokyo World Championships. Serem capped off his season with a strong runner-up finish at the Diamond League final.

Serem competed in the 3000m steeplechase at the 2025 Xiamen Diamond League event in China, in April 2025, running a personal best time of 8:08.50. The following weekend, he secured second place in the 3000m steeplechase at the 2025 Shanghai Diamond League, running a time of 8:08.68.

In May 2025, he ran a new personal best of 8:07.47 to finish third in the 3000m steeplechase at the 2025 Meeting International Mohammed VI d’Athlétisme de Rabat, also part of the 2025 Diamond League, and followed that with a steeplechase win at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi on 31 May, 2025.

Ethiopia’s Biniam Mehary completes the trio of finalists. The teenager set a world u-20 record over 3000m on the short track and finished fifth in the 5000m at the World Championships, marking him as one of Africa’s most promising long-distance runners.

The dominance of Kenyan athletes in this year’s shortlist highlights the nation’s ongoing success in nurturing world-class young talent. Koech and Serem will be strong contenders to follow in the footsteps of past Rising Star winners who have gone on to achieve senior global titles.

The Women’s Rising Star Award finalists will be announced tomorrow.

Alongside the Rising Star categories, the 2025 World Athletics Awards will also celebrate achievements across the sport with honours including World Athlete of the Year, Coaching Achievement Award, Woman of the Year, Photograph of the Year, Member Federation Award and the President’s Award.