After unveiling the first half of our Top 10 World Male Athletes of 2025, we now turn the spotlight on the remaining five: the men who round off an exceptional list of global sporting excellence.
5. Oblique Seville
After years of unfortunate outcomes at global competitions, Oblique Seville finally got to write his success story with a GOLDEN ink by ending Jamaica’s 10-year drought of producing a male World Champion since Usain Bolt over the short sprints.
Seville started things off properly at the Grand Slam Track meet where he placed 2nd in the 100m with a Season’s Best (SB) of 10.08s. He followed it with another 2nd placement in the 100m (9.84s) and 200m (20.13) at the Miramar Invitational, with the latter being a Personal Best (PB) for him.
Seville placed 2nd at the Jamaican Trials in an SB of 9.83s, which would be his last loss of the season as he went on to emerge victorious in the London(9.86s) and Lausanne Diamond Leagues (9.87s), respectively.
After an uncharacteristic mistake in his 100m heat at the World Championships where he reacted poorly to the start gun, the Jamaican dominated the remaining rounds of competition, crowing his effort with a glorious win, which was accompanied by a PB of 9.77s. This was an apt victory for Seville after coming in 4th at the 2022 and 2023 editions.
4. Noah Lyles
One of the greatest sprinters in this decade, Noah Lyles once again proved that he’s an athlete who always rises to the occasion. The Olympic champion’s season didn’t start the way he wanted after picking up an injury that side-lined him for three months of competition. Lyles returned to action in July and won his first race in an SB of 19.88s ahead of the reigning Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo (19.97s) at the Monaco Diamond League.
A week later, he got 2nd place in the 100m in another SB of 10.00s at the London Diamond League. He defended his 200m National title at the US Trials in a World Lead (WL) of 19.63s over Kenny Bednarrek. The American won his fifth Diamond League 200m trophy after triumphing at the Zurich Final in 19.74s, taking his overall tally to six, just a title shy of the overall record (seven) which is held by France’s Renaud Lavillenie and USA’s Christian Taylor.
Lyles was able to handle the immense pressure and expectations weighed on him as the defending World champion. He earned Bronze in the 100m in 9.92s courtesy of his top end speed, then went on to achieve an unprecedented feat. He won his fourth consecutive 200m World title, matching Usain Bolt’s feat in a time of 19.52s and etched his place as one of the greatest 200m athletes ever as his WL of 19.51s recorded in the semis saw him take the top spot he relinquished last year after holding the WL for a period of six consecutive seasons (2018-2023).
Lyles led the US men’s 4x100m quartet to victory, bringing his overall World Championships GOLD medal tally to 8. He departed the World Championships as the most decorated male athlete with three medals.
3. Cordell Tinch
From one American to another. With Grant Holloway not being in the mix for the first time in six years, his compatriot Cordell Tinch picked up the mantle to ensure the 110m hurdles remained an American affair.
An early WL of 13.08s in April at the Xiamen Diamond League set the tone for the hurdler after opening his season three weeks prior at the Grand Slam Track in Kingston where he came 5th. He backed it up with a superior time and PB of 12.87s at the Shanghai/Keqiao Diamond League, becoming the joint fourth fastest man in history.
Tinch lost a bit of momentum in the middle of the season, having to place 2nd in multiple meets such as the Rome and Monaco Diamond Leagues, Grand Prix Brescia, and the US Trials, before getting back into the swing of things at the latter phase of the season, earning major wins in Silesia (13.03s), Lausanne (12.97s) and most importantly, the Diamond League Final in Zurich (12.92s).
Going into Worlds as the heavy favourite, Tinch understood the assignment. He roared to victory in an impressive time of 12.99s, his fourth legal sub-13 of the season, ensuring a fourth consecutive win for his country in the discipline.
2. Emmanuel Wanyonyi
Africa’s pride, Emmanuel Wanyonyi has proven that he’s ready to follow in the footsteps of his country man, the iconic David Rudisha, with his jaw dropping performances in the last two seasons.
The Kenyan began the season with an unexpected defeat at the Rabat Diamond League where he came 3rd in an SB of 1:43.37. Wanyonyi got over the disappointment by going on a four-race winning streak in the Diamond League circuit spanning Oslo, Stockholm, Monaco, and London. However, his winning streak came to a halt in Lausanne where he placed 2nd, but the Kenyan didn’t relent as he won the Diamond League Final in Zurich four days later.
The reigning Olympic champion was on a mission to win the only title missing from his medal cabinet – World Championships GOLD – after winning Silver at the previous edition in Budapest. Just like at the Paris Olympics, it was yet another intense final where the medallists were separated by whiskers but at the end of day, it was Wanyonyi who prevailed with a new Championship Record (CR) of 1:41.86 as Rudisha watched from the stands of the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. What a proud moment for both Kenyans!
1. Mondo Duplantis
If World Athletics had a dictionary, the name Mondo Duplantis would be synonymous with greatness. The serial World Record (WR) holder had a superb season yet again, closing out with the same predictable ending: a World Record (WR) and a GOLD medal.
Despite being in a league of his own, Duplantis continues to defy the laws of Physics by challenging gravity, pushing the bar higher one centimetre at a time. The Swedish jumper broke his WR at the Stockholm Diamond League where he crossed the bar at 6.28m on his very first attempt. He crowned his unbeaten streak at the Diamond League circuit by winning his fifth consecutive Diamond League Final trophy in Zurich.
The two-time Olympic champion who has turned to a crowd favourite at every meet he graces, gave the spectators a grand show at the World Championships in Tokyo, a venue where he won his first major global title four years ago. The 2025 Laureus World Sportsman smashed his WR, surpassing a magical mark of 6.30m, taking his third consecutive World Outdoor title and completing the indoor/outdoor sweep after winning the former in March, which was also a third consecutive World Indoor title.
With his clearance of 6.30m, Duplantis is the only man to go beyond 6.10m, 6.20m, and 6.30m, further cementing his legacy as the greatest in the discipline. As a matter of fact, no man has cleared 6.20m, with the closest mark being the previous WR of 6.16m Renaud Lavillenie set in 2014.
