World Athletics has named Marta Alemayo (ማርታ አለማዮ) as one of three finalists for the 2026 Women’s Rising Star Award. The award honors the year’s best under 20 athlete, and the winner will be announced on November 29 at the World Athletics Awards in Monaco.
The governing body announced the women’s shortlist on Thursday, November 12. It pointed to two results from Marta’s season. She retained her world under 20 cross country title, and she ran 5 kilometres in 14:15, which World Athletics called the third fastest performance in history.
The other finalists are Mia Maxwell of the United States, the world under 20 champion in the 100 and 200 metres, and Yan Ziyi of China, who this year broke the world under 20 javelin record.
Ethiopia has had a busy month on the track and on the roads. Elsabet Amare and Yomif Abebe won gold at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar earlier this week. For a longer career on the roads, we recently published a guide to Tigst Assefa.
