The Hungarian capital provided the perfect platform for the star athletes to excel and express themselves, writes Katharine Merry

I do enjoy awards season and was only too happy to cast my vote for the AW Readers Choice Awards this year. It was the perfect prompt to look back through the past few months and remember the performances which have shaped the class of 2023.

As with every year, it was tough to make a decision when it came to a few of the categories and it was also a reminder of how subjective the process can be. Ultimately, it comes down to your personal opinion on what youve enjoyed about that persons performances and that can be based on a variety of reasons.

It could be because you know that athlete, it could be because you like how they go about their business or it could be because of the reason which I think is the most important you like the story behind what theyve achieved. Stop me if youve heard this one before but storytelling is everything when it comes to being able to grow our sport.

People have got to become invested in watching, following or paying money to go and see athletes compete and that is so personality-driven, so it has been brilliant to be able to look back at 2023 and see so many of the top names really stamping their personalities on proceedings.

When I think of this year, its the World Championships which immediately spring to mind.

Getting your showpiece event right is a brilliant starting point and Budapest was absolutely outstanding. I havent found anyone who would disagree with that. Yes, there was a sizeable budget behind the event but youve still got to pull it off and get it right. There are so many working parts to a championships and so many areas where it can go wrong, so to stage what has been universally deemed to be one of the greatest championships in history was no mean feat.

An environment was created where the athletes were given the perfect platform to perform and so many of them did that this time around. In fact, when you look across the outdoor track and field season as a whole, from the moment the Diamond League kicked off in May right through to the final events in September, there was never really a major lull in proceedings. There was always something of significance happening and no shortage of talking points, which is exactly what we want.

My picks for the top British athletes of the year probably wont surprise you. My votes went to Josh Kerr and Katarina Johnson-Thompson. In terms of storytelling, there are few better examples than the one which took Josh to gold.

The outcome of the race, with lightning striking twice and Jakob Ingebrigtsen being beaten over the closing stretch again by a member of Edinburgh AC, was staggering enough in itself, but afterwards it became clear that there were so many layers to how Josh got to the finish line first.

From going above and beyond, leaving no stone unturned with his fight camp style preparations, down to the mind games of wearing the same singlet Jake Wightman did when winning the 1500m title against the Norwegian in 2022, it was brilliant stuff and absolutely fascinating.

Katarinas journey, with her comeback from injury problems and the doubts about whether she might ever be a contender on the world stage in the heptathlon again, was also a story to savour and the thing I loved is that it was given a chance to be heard.

She was competing at the same time as the Lionesses at the European Championships but the fact they didnt go on to win allowed the spotlight to shift to Katarina. I was working with BBC Radio Five Live in Budapest and we were really able to delve into what she was doing. We could cover her every move and she got the coverage she deserved.

Hers is a journey I can really relate to and some of the best stories lie in the things people dont see, such as dragging yourself around a track in the dead of winter having helped shovel the snow off, or how an athletes support network might have helped to get them back on their feet.

One of my best friends is Ashia Hansen, the former world indoor, European and Commonwealth triple jump champion, and I saw when she was competing just how much she was helped by the coaching of Aston Moore.

He is now in Katarinas corner and you cant overestimate what a difference it will have made to have such a calming and experienced figure to call on. It will have been invaluable and, with the likes of Jazmin Sawyers, he is creating a fantastic training group and environment.

Beyond the British athletes, my vote for International male went to Mondo Duplantis. The one discipline he contests, he smashes it every year. I love athletes who are consistent and he has been nothing but for years now. It also happens to be the case that his level of consistency just blows the rest of the world away.

A similar thing could be said of Faith Kipyegon. Yes, I know her 5000m mark didnt stand for long but she broke three world records this summer and did the World Championships 1500m/5000m double. The thing I loved the most, though, was the way she went about it and attacked every race.

It was great to see how her competitors reacted to her, too, and the way she was embraced by them all every step of the way. You couldnt imagine the same thing happening with Jakob on the mens side! In fairness to him, I have begun to see him in a different light this year. The recent news headlines about his father have given us a glimpse of how tough things must have been for him so to reach such high levels in the circumstances says a great deal about him.

Thanks to all of these achievements and subplots, I can already think of a few events Im looking forward to in 2024. For now, though, I think Ill allow myself to appreciate what a brilliant year its been for a little while longer.