Voting is open to decide the outstanding athletes of 2020, plus the finest from the past 75 years

Usain Bolt, Fanny Blankers-Koen, Haile Gebrselassie and Jackie Joyner-Kersee are among the athletes nominated in ‘the greatest’ category of the AW Awards, launching today (November 5).

This may have been a year of major disruption but there are still many great performances to celebrate and our annual awards are back for 2020. As always, we’re leaving the big decisions down to our discerning readers and AW magazine subscribers can cast their votes now in the AW Clubhouse here.

There are the usual categories to take in the finest performances from international, British, junior, masters and para athletes, but there is also one extra category this time around.

The December issue of AW, which will reveal our award winners, will also mark the magazine’s 75th anniversary and to help us commemorate the occasion we’re asking our magazine readers to vote for the greatest male and female athletes to have graced the sport since 1945.

Joining sprint star Bolt and distance running great Gebrselassie in the greatest male athlete category are 400m hurdles ace Ed Moses, running legend Emil Zatopek and discus dynamo Al Oerter.

Also nominated for the greatest female athlete award alongside trailblazer Blankers-Koen and combined events great Joyner-Kersee are sprinting star Irena Szewinska, distance running great Tirunesh Dibaba and multiple global sprint gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

Athletes nominated in the international athlete of the year categories include Karsten Warholm, Joshua Cheptegei, Peres Jepchirchir and Sifan Hassan, while those up for British athlete of the year honours include Mo Farah, Daniel Rowden, Laura Muir and Holly Bradshaw.

Full shortlists can be found below, with the results to be published in the December edition of AW.

AW magazine subscribers can CLICK HERE to read more about the nominees and cast their votes.

The greatest male athlete  
– Usain Bolt
– Haile Gebrselassie
– Ed Moses
– Emil Zatopek
– Al Oerter

The greatest female athlete
– Fanny Blankers-Koen
– Irena Szewinska
– Jackie Joyner-Kersee
– Tirunesh Dibaba
– Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

International male athlete  
– Karsten Warholm
– Joshua Cheptegei
– Mondo Duplantis
– Shura Kitata
– Jacob Kiplimo
– Ryan Crouser

International female athlete  
– Sifan Hassan
– Letesenbet Gidey
– Faith Kipyegon
– Brigid Kosgei
– Peres Jepchirchir
– Femke Bol

British male athlete
– Daniel Rowden
– Jake Smith
– Mo Farah
– Harry Coppell
– Jake Wightman
– Andrew Pozzi

British female athlete
– Jemma Reekie
– Jessie Knight
– Holly Bradshaw
– Laura Muir
– Aimee Pratt
– Laura Weightman

British junior male athlete  
– Max Burgin
– Kelechi Aguocha
– Lewis Byng

British junior female athlete  
– Amy Hunt
– Lucy-Jane Matthews
– Keely Hodgkinson

World masters male athlete  
– Tommy Hughes
– Aramis Diaz
– Herbert Mueller
– Cees Stolwijk

World masters female athlete
– Rosa Pedersen
– Julia Machin
– Anne Gilshinan
– Kathleen Stewart

World para athlete male  
– Brent Lakatos
– David Weir
– Tomoki Suzuki

World para athlete female  
– Hannah Cockroft
– Nikita den Boer
– Tsubasa Kina