World Athletics has named three finalists for its 2026 International Fair Play Award, which recognises sportsmanship beyond the result itself. The shortlist covers a marathon drink station in Sydney, a finish-line rescue in Boston and a friendship between two of the world's best pole vaulters. Fans can vote on social media until 16 November, and the public vote will be combined with a jury vote before the winner is announced at the World Athletics Awards in Monaco on 29 November.
The first nomination comes from the Sydney Marathon. Around the 30km mark, Kenya's Irie Cheptai handed her own drink to Michael Roeger, the Australian Paralympian born without his lower right arm, who had missed four hydration stations because they were set up on the right-hand side of the road. Roeger went on to finish in 2:18:36, breaking his own world record for his classification.
The second involves two club runners at the Boston Marathon. Aaron Beggs and Robson De Oliveira stopped to help 21-year-old Ajay Haridasse after he collapsed close to the finish, giving up their own chances of personal bests to get him across the line. Haridasse finished in 2:44:32, a time that met the qualifying standard for the 2027 Boston Marathon.
The third finalists are the pole vaulters Mondo Duplantis and Emmanouil Karalis, nominated for a rivalry conducted with open warmth and mutual support. At the Zurich Diamond League, Duplantis cleared 6.25m for an outdoor world lead while Karalis jumped 6.20m to set a Greek record, and the pair's celebration of each other's performances has become a familiar sight on the circuit this season.
The jury includes Paula Radcliffe, the former marathon world record holder, the Olympic hurdles champion Sally Pearson and World Athletics chief executive Jon Ridgeon. The award will be presented on the same night as the World Athlete of the Year honours, a reminder that two of the three nominated moments came not from the elite podium but from the mass-participation fields that make up most of the sport.