Four African Athletes Honored at the World Athletics Awards 2024

While commenting on the award and recognition via her X handle, Hassan dedicated her win to young girls with ambitious dreams. In her post, Hassan shared her admiration for marathon runners and fascination with the sport. “This year, my curiosity drove me to take a risk and compete in three distances at the Paris Olympics,” she wrote. “It was terrifying, but that made every finish line even more meaningful. It wasn’t perfect, but sometimes happiness comes from embracing imperfections. I’m so grateful that this journey is being recognized and celebrated.”

She concluded her statement by writing, “This award isn’t just for me, my team, or my family. It’s for every young girl out there, watching, dreaming, and believing she can achieve greatness through sport. To all of you, I want to say: keep exercising, keep training, keep pushing, keep believing and always remember that no dream is too big.”

Hassan and Tebogo are not the only Africans honored at this year’s World Athletics awards; 19-year-old track and field athlete Sembo Almayew from Ethiopia and long-distance runner Tamirat Tola, also from Ethiopia, both received recognitions: Alamyew in the Rising Star category and Tola in the Men’s out-of-stadium category. The recognition brings a solid close to an Olympic year that sawstellar performancesfrom a handful of African athletes despite ongoinginfrastructural challenges to the sports ecosystem on the continent.