BREAKING NEWS!  Faith Kipyegon has been suddenly removed from the shortlist for the 2025 Female Athlete of the Year, sending the athletics world into turmoil amid suspicions of a European “power grab.”  Within just 24 hours, the queen who holds two world records was crossed off the list without explanation, replaced by an unknown athlete.

Kenyan fans are exploding with outrage, demanding that World Athletics launch an urgent investigation after the identity of the figure accused of manipulating the results was leaked… Full story below 👇

World Athletics has issued an official statement confirming that the viral claim circulating on social media since yesterday is completely false.

Faith Kipyegon remains firmly on the five-woman shortlist for the 2025 Women’s World Athlete of the Year award, exactly where she has been since the nominees were announced on November 12, 2025.

The shortlist, voted on by an international panel of athletics experts, fans, and media, still includes Kipyegon alongside Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Sifan Hassan, Beatrice Chebet, and Nafissatou Thiam. No athlete has been removed, and no mysterious replacement has taken place.

The rumor appears to have originated from a single Kenyan Facebook page that posted a doctored screenshot of the World Athletics website.

The altered image showed Kipyegon’s name crossed out in red and replaced with a fictional Swedish middle-distance runner named “Elsa Lindström,” a name that does not exist in any elite athletics database.

Within hours, the fake screenshot spread across WhatsApp groups, TikTok, and several local blogs, accompanied by captions accusing European officials of orchestrating a deliberate campaign to deny African athletes global recognition.

Some posts went as far as naming a senior World Athletics council member as the mastermind behind the alleged manipulation.

By Thursday evening, the hashtag #JusticeForKipyegon was trending across East Africa, with over 180,000 posts in less than twelve hours. Kenyan celebrities, politicians, and even government officials joined the outrage, calling for boycotts of European track events and an independent audit of the voting process.

World Athletics responded swiftly on Friday morning, publishing the original shortlist on its verified channels and stating that the voting platform had recorded no irregularities.

The organization also clarified that the final winner will be announced on December 1, 2025, after the conclusion of the three-stage voting process involving the World Athletics Council, the World Athletics Family, and fans.

A forensic examination of the fake screenshot, conducted by independent digital analysts, revealed clear signs of manipulation. The font used for the alleged replacement name did not match World Athletics’ official typeface, and the pixel resolution around the red strike-through line showed evidence of copy-paste editing.

This incident marks the latest in a growing wave of athletics-related disinformation targeting prominent African athletes. Similar false narratives emerged last year when fabricated doping allegations were spread against Eliud Kipchoge weeks before the Berlin Marathon.

Many observers point to the timing as particularly suspicious. The rumor exploded just as voting entered its final week, a period when public votes can still sway the outcome.

Some Kenyan athletics commentators speculate that the hoax may have been designed to mobilize sympathy votes for Kipyegon, potentially giving her an artificial boost.

Others see it as part of a broader pattern of online tribalism in African sport, where manufactured scandals are weaponized to rally nationalistic support. “We have seen this before,” said former Kenyan 800m star Janeth Jepkosgei.

“Someone creates drama, people get angry, then the truth comes out later when the damage is already done.”

Faith Kipyegon herself has remained silent on the matter so far. Her management team issued a brief statement urging fans to verify information through official channels and to continue supporting her through legitimate voting on the World Athletics website.

As of Friday afternoon, fan voting numbers have surged dramatically, with sources inside World Athletics reporting that Kipyegon received more votes in the past 24 hours than in the entire previous week combined. Whether this wave of support will translate into the actual award remains to be seen.

The episode has reignited debates about the vulnerability of global sports awards to misinformation in the age of instant sharing. World Athletics has announced it will strengthen its digital verification protocols and work with social media platforms to flag false content more quickly.

For now, the athletics world can breathe a sigh of relief: Faith Kipyegon has not been removed from anything. The only thing that was crossed off was the truth, briefly replaced by a poorly edited lie that fooled hundreds of thousands before collapsing under basic scrutiny.

The real question moving forward is not whether African athletes are being targeted by shadowy European cabals, but why so many are ready to believe the worst without checking the facts first. In the rush to defend our heroes, we risk becoming the very manipulators we claim to fight against.

Voting closes on November 30. The winner will be revealed the following day. Until then, the only power grab taking place is the one where outrage outruns reality.