INDIANAPOLIS - October 30, 2025 – USA Track & Field (USATF), the national governing body for track and field in the United States, will celebrate a historically successful 2025 by honoring the year’s top athletes. USATF announced the nominees for its annual end-of-the-year awards today. The winners will be decided by votes from fans and from track and field media. Fan voting is open now by clicking here. Winners will be announced at the USATF Annual Meeting on December 5 in Orlando, Florida.
“With a record-setting 16 gold medals at the World Championships in Tokyo and six gold medals at the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi, there is no shortage of nominees for the year’s top athlete awards,” said Max Siegel, CEO of USATF. “Everyone of these athletes is deserving of the accolades for how they represented the United States in 2025.”
Nominees were selected by a panel from the USATF National Office and chosen based on their performance against international competition. Every nominee won a global gold medal or race against an international field this year.
The nominees for the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Female Athlete of the Year are: Valarie Allman - Undefeated in the discus in 2025 and is the world leader thanks to a throw of 73.52 in April of this year. Allman won her first world title in Tokyo. Tara Davis-Woodhall - Undefeated in the long jump in 2025. She set a world lead of 7.13 with her winning jump at the World Championships. Anna Hall - Became the first American woman to win a world title in the heptathlon since Jackie Joyner-Kersee in 1992. In June, she moved to second on the all-time list behind Joyner-Kersee with a score of 7032 Melissa Jefferson-Wooden - First American woman to win the 100m and 200m at the same world championships. She holds the world lead in both events with times of 10.61 and 21.68 respectively; anchored the women’s 4x100m to a decisive victory. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone - Successfully switched events and broke the American record in the 400m with a performance of 47.78, the second fastest in history; anchored the women’s 4x400m to a decisive victory. Katie Moon -- Won her fourth consecutive world title in the pole vault; holds the second highest mark in the world this year with her jump of 4.90 from Tokyo.
The Nominees for Para Athletics Female Athlete of the Year the Year presented by Toyota are: Annie Carey – Won gold in the 200m T44 and silver in the 100m T44 at the Para World Championships; fourth place and a T44 world record in the long jump T64 at Worlds. Arelle Middleton - Gold in the Shot put F44 at worlds. She set an Americas Record at Para Nationals. Susannah Scaroni - Winner of the Boston Marathon, Sydney Marathon, and Chicago Marathon. Second at the Tokyo Marathon, and the London Marathon. Currently in 1st place in the Abbott WMM Elite Series Women’s Wheelchair standings and on track to be the 2025 champion.
The nominees for the Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year are: Rai Benjamin – Won the gold medal and set a world lead in the 400m hurdles for his first world title; anchored the 4x400m to a close silver medal finish Ryan Crouser - Battled back from injury to win the world title in his only competition of 2025. It’s his fifth consecutive global title between the World Championships and the Olympic Games. Cole Hocker - Became only the second American to win the 5000m at the World Championships along with Bernard Lagat. Noah Lyles – Won his third consecutive 200m world title in a world-leading time of 19.51; anchored the 4x100m relay to gold. Cordell Tinch - Won his first world title in the 110m hurdles. Ran a world-leading time of 12.87 in July.
The Nominees for Para Athletics Male Athlete of the Year presented by Toyota are: Jaydin Blackwell – Won gold in the 100m & 400m T38 at Worlds. It was his third consecutive double-victory at the world championships; set the world record of 48.00 in the 400m Michael Brannigan - Won the gold medal in 1500m T20. It’s his third world championship title. Joel Gomez - Won his first world title in the 1500m T13 at the World Championships. Ran an unofficial world record in the 1500m T13 of 3:47.70 in June.
Voting for fans is open at this link through November 10, 2025 at 11:59 p.m.