AW Magazine

15 December 2023

The December issue of AW looks back at 2023 through the eyes of the athletes who made it such a memorable year. We reveal and profile all the winners of the AW Readers’ Awards, hearing from Femke Bol’s coach about how she effectively re-learned her event to strike 400m hurdles gold at the World Championships, through to speaking with 1500m champion Josh Kerr about how his world title in Budapest has changed his life and made him hungrier for Olympic success in Paris. There’s a focus, too, on men’s pole vault world record-holder Mondo Duplantis, who explains why he is going in pursuit of moments rather than medals, while world heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson talks us through becoming a force to be reckoned with again. From the track to the trails, we hear from the athletes who have stood out to the AW readership across the course of the past 12 months. This time last year, Eilish McColgan won several awards in the aftermath of her record-breaking and Commonwealth 10,000m gold medal-winning exploits. 2023 has been a very different experience, however, due to injury and family tragedy. She talks about the inner voice which keeps telling her there is still more to come from her. As usual, there is a packed performance section filled with expert advice, a look into the training diary of world 50km champion Carla Molinaro but also a new feature called coaching conversations. We start with Dan Pfaff, who has guided some of the world’s very best, about his journey through the sport. With Christmas on the horizon, there’s also a gift guide to help you find the perfect presents for the athletes in your life.