Every Athletics season unveils new athletes with the potential to dominate their events for years to come. In 2025, we saw impressive performances from athletes around the world and have selected 10 athletes who made a huge impact this year, breaking onto the scene in a big way. We’ll start with Nos. 10 – 6 on our list of athletes who had a breakout season.
- Phanuel Koech
Phanuel Koech, the World U-20 1500m record holder is shaping the future of the 1500m with every race. The standout Kenyan talent ran the mile in 3:56.08 at the Road to Records Meet in Germany where finished 4th. He also raced in the 800m at the 6th AK Track & Field Weekend in Nairobi, winning his heat in 1:47.00 and placed 5th in the final with 1:47.48.
He set a new Meeting Record (MR) and World U-20 Lead of 3:32.26 at the 4th Lucca International Meeting in Italy, which qualified him for the World Championships. He continued his rise, setting a World U20 1500m Record of 3:27.72 to finish 2nd at the Paris Diamond League. He also won in Ostrava with a time of 3:29.05. At the London Diamond League, he claimed victory in the men’s 1500m with an MR of 3:28.82 in his second-ever Diamond League race.
Koech finished 3rd in the 1500m Diamond League Final with a time of 3:30.02. At the Tokyo World Championships, he placed 12th in his heat with 3:42.77 in his first senior appearance. Despite a tough race, Koech’s performance earned him a nomination for the 2025 Men’s Rising Star Award.
- Jacory Patterson
Jacory Patterson had an incredible year and was USA’s No.1 male quartermiler in 2025. At the Clemson Tiger Paw Invitational, he clocked 45.41s in the men’s 400m and placed 2nd at the USA Indoor Championships with a time of 45.60s. The 25-year-old claimed a Bronze medal at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing with 45.54s. He also ran the third leg on USA’s men’s 4x400m GOLD-winning team in Nanjing.
Patterson won the men’s 400m at the Tom Jones Memorial with a time of 44.27s. At the Grand Slam Track in Miami, he ran his first sub-44s of the season, clocking 43.98s, becoming the first man to break 44s in 2025. He defeated South Africa’s Zakithi Nene to win the men’s 400m at the Rabat Diamond League in 44.37s and placed 3rd in 44.31s at the Prefontaine Classic.
Patterson became the US Men’s 400m Champion with a time of 44.16s and ran 44.63s in the US Championships semifinal. He dominated the men’s 400m at the Brussels Diamond League with a win in 44.05s and stormed to a new Personal Best (PB) of 43.85s to win the Diamond League final in Zurich. At the World Championships in Tokyo, Patterson ran a scorching 43.90s in the heats but finished 7th in the final. He then secured a Silver medal with the men’s 4x400m squad.
- Merlin Hummel
Merlin Hummel is leading the way for young hammer throwers. He started his season at the German Winter Throwing Competition in Halle, winning with a throw of 76.38m. At the 50.Halplus Werfertage, the 23-year-old became the first German in 18 years to break the 80m-mark, throwing 80.11m.
He hit another milestone with his first throw over 81m, reaching 81.23m in Fränkisch-Crumbach, setting a new Stadium Record, surpassing Markus Esser’s 2005 record by 13cm. He improved the mark by 4cm (81.27m) to settle for Silver at the European Team Championships. At the World University Games in Bochum, Hummel threw 75.76m in the qualifying round and went on to win Bronze with 77.03m.
The thrower won the 2025 German Athletics Championships with 78.17m and at the Silesia Diamond League, claimed 3rd place with a throw of 79.16m. Hummel made his second consecutive global final, hitting 78.54m in the qualifying rounds of his event to make the final of the men’s Hammer throw at the World Championships in Tokyo. He went on to set a big PB of 82.77m to win Silver.
- Sembo Almayew
Sembo Almayew is making a name for herself in the next generation of women’s steeplechase. The Ethiopian started her season with a time of 14:41.75 in the 5000m at the Xiamen Diamond League, placing 10th, then clocked 9:09.27 for 3rd at the Doha Diamond League, which was her first 3000m Steeplechase of the season.
She secured another 3rd place finish (9:01.22) at the Paris Diamond League. In Eugene, Almayew raced to a new PB of 8:59.90 in 5th place, then settled for 2nd in Lausanne in 9:20.39.
At the World Championships in Tokyo, Almayew stormed to a Bronze medal in a new lifetime best of 8:58.86, having posted a time of 9:15.84 in the heats.
- Emma Zapletalova
Slovak athlete Emma Zapletalová had an inspiring season, marked by a series of impressive achievements. She kicked off her 2025 campaign by setting a new Indoor NR over 400m in Ostrava with a time of 52.61s. She also won the 400m hurdles at the IFAM Outdoor Meeting in Brussels with a performance of 54.74s, then clocked 54.71s at the FBK Games in Hengelo.
At the Oslo Diamond League, she came 2nd in the 400m hurdles with a time of 54.44s. Zapletalová then set a new NR of 50.76s to win the 400m at the European Team Championships in Maribor and won GOLD in the mixed 4x400m at the same competition.
The versatile athlete won the 200m with a Season’s Best (SB) of 23.15s at the Slovak Championships. Zapletalová clocked a new NR of 54.08s at the London Diamond League and improved to 53.58s in Silesia. In the Diamond League Final in Zurich, Zapletalová finished a brilliant 2nd with another NR of 53.18s.
She wrapped up her breakout 2025 season with a Bronze medal at the World Championships in Tokyo, running an NR of 53.00s to claim her first global medal.
