Olympic champion and world 400m recorder holder Wayde van Niekerk will contest the IAAF Athlete of the Year award with Jamaica's Usain Bolt and Mo Farah of Great Britain, the IAAF announced yesterday.

This after the world athletics governing body revealed its shortlist for the athletes who will vie for the prestigious title across the men's and women's categories.

Van Niekerk, 24, made the initial long list of 10 candidates with fellow Olympic gold medallist Caster Semenya but there was no place for the SA 800m champion when the group was whittled down to three following a voting process.

Semenya was among the first to congratulate his national teammate when the finalists was released yesterday.

"Congratulations to my hommie [homeboy] on this one. I never had any doubt on this one. Salute," noted Semenya on her Twitter account.

The finalists were determined by a voting process that included a public vote that counted for 25% of the votes.

The winner will be announced at the awards' ceremony in Monaco, France, on December 2. Van Niekerk has enjoyed an exceptional season that he capped with a world record time of 43.03 seconds.

He is also in line for three awards at the SA Sport Awards later this month.

The sprinter has been nominated for Sports Star and Sportsman of the Year, as well as the People's Choice award.

IAAF award finalists: Wayde van Niekerk, Usain Bolt (Jamaica), Mo Farah (Great Britain); Women: Almaz Ayana (Ethiopia), Elaine Thompson (Jamaica) and Anita Wlodarczyk (Poland)