AIMS World Athlete of the Year Award
Encyclopedia
Association of International Marathons and Distance Races
The Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, also known as AIMS, is an association of long-distance running races. Originally founded in 1982 at a meeting in London of marathon race directors, its membership was extended in 1986 to include all road races...
(AIMS) to the top male and female athletes of the year.
Established in 1992, runners receive nominations from the organisers of AIMS member races (over 300 in number) and the man and woman with the most nominations are each given the AIMS Golden Shoe. The athletic footwear
Footwear
Footwear consists of garments worn on the feet, for fashion, protection against the environment, and adornment. Being barefoot is commonly associated with poverty, but some cultures chose not to wear footwear at least in some situations....
company ASICS
ASICS
ASICS is a Japanese athletic equipment company. ASICS produces professional footwear and sports equipment designed for football, running, netball, tennis, badminton, squash, martial arts, cricket, golf, wrestling, track & field, cross-training, volleyball, cheerleading, lacrosse, and for many other...
is a long-time sponsor of the award. There is no designated period in the year for when the awards are given out, but instead runners are given the Golden Shoe in a ceremony preceding their participation in one of the AIMS races.
Those to have received the award include marathon world record holders Haile Gebrselassie
Haile Gebrselassie
Haile Gebrselassie is an Ethiopian long-distance track and road running athlete. He won two Olympic gold medals over 10,000 metres and four World Championship titles in the event. He won the Berlin Marathon four times consecutively and also had three straight wins at the Dubai Marathon...
and Paula Radcliffe
Paula Radcliffe
Paula Jane Radcliffe, MBE is an English long-distance runner. She is the current women's world record holder in the marathon with her time of 2:15:25 hours...
, who have each been given the honour on three separate occasions. Kenyan Tegla Loroupe
Tegla Loroupe
Tegla Chepkite Loroupe is a long-distance track and road runner, and a global spokeswoman for peace, women's rights, and education....
has the most wins to her name; she won her first award in 1995 and took the honour for three consecutive years from 1997 to 1999. Others to have been nominated as AIMS World Athlete of the Year are Lornah Kiplagat
Lornah Kiplagat
Lornah Kiplagat is a Dutch long-distance runner. She was born in Kabiemit, Rift Valley Province, Kenya and came to the Netherlands in 1999. She gained Dutch citizenship in 2003 and has competed for the Netherlands since...
, Uta Pippig
Uta Pippig
Uta Pippig is a female long-distance runner, and the first woman to win the Boston Marathon three consecutive times . She also won the Berlin Marathon three times , the New York City Marathon once , and she represented Germany in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics...
, Khalid Khannouchi
Khalid Khannouchi
Khalid Khannouchi is a Moroccan American marathoner. He was born in Meknes, Morocco. He is the former world record holder for the marathon and held the former road world best for the 20 km distance. He is one of only five men to break the marathon world record more than once, and one of only four...
and Catherine Ndereba
Catherine Ndereba
Wincatherine Nyambura Ndereba is a Kenyan marathon runner. She has twice won the marathon at the World Championships in Athletics and won silver medals in the Olympics in 2004 and 2008. She is also a four-time winner of the Boston Marathon...
. The award is typically given to athletes who have performed well in marathon races, half marathon
Half marathon
A half marathon is a road running event of . It is half the distance of a marathon and usually run on roads. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily recently. One of the main reasons for this is that it is a challenging distance, but does not require the same level of training that a...
s and road running
Road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...
events in general. One exception to this was when Paul Tergat
Paul Tergat
Paul Kibii Tergat is a Kenyan professional long distance runner. He held the world record in the marathon from 2003 to 2007, with a time of 2:04:55, and is regarded as one of the most accomplished long-distance runners of all time.Now concentrating exclusively on the marathon, Tergat won many...
was given the 1996 award in honour of his 10,000 metres world record on the track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
and his second victory at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships
IAAF World Cross Country Championships
IAAF World Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Held annually and organised by International Association of Athletics Federations , it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the International Cross Country Championships...
.
Winners
| Year | Men's winner | Women's winner |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | ||
| 1993 | Not awarded | |
| 1994 | ||
| 1995 | Not awarded | |
| 1996 | ||
| 1997 | ||
| 1998 | ||
| 1999 | ||
| 2000 | ||
| 2001 | ||
| 2002 | ||
| 2003 | ||
| 2004 | ||
| 2005 | ||
| 2006 | ||
| 2007 | ||
| 2008 | ||
| 2009 | ||
| 2010 | Not yet awarded | |