Karsten Warholm has never needed other people to run fast. Over the past two years, he’s racked up big wins against overwhelmed fields. When he isn’t racing Abderrahman Samba or Rai Benjamin, Warholm puts the field to bed in the first half of the race. Lesser athletes ease up, but Warholm slams on the gas and barrels across the line. 

Below are FloTrack’s top five professional male performers of 2019:

The IAAF announced the 11 men’s finalists for 2019 Athlete of the Year on Monday. 

Our next installment of event previews for the 2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, focuses on the men's hurdles races.