Jamaica’s Usain Bolt and Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana have been named the male and female World Athletes of the Year at the IAAF Athletics Awards 2016, held at Sporting Monte Carlo on December 2, 2016.
- A list of 10 men and 10 women nominees were selected by an international panel of athletics experts, comprising representatives from all six continental areas of the IAAF.
About Usain Bolt
Usain Bolt is a Jamaican sprinter regarded as the fastest human ever timed. He is the first man to hold both the 100 metres and 200 metres world records
- Bolt, who won the IAAF Athletics Awards five times between 2008 and 2013, added to his legacy by earning the trophy for a record sixth occasion.
- The sprinter successfully won his Olympic titles in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m, in 2016, bringing his lifetime tally of Olympic gold medals to nine.
About Almaz Ayana
Ayana is an Ethiopian female long-distance runner who competes in the 3000 metres, 5000 metres, and 10,000 metres events. She set a new 10,000 metres world record, breaking the previous one set in 1993, when winning gold in the event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
- Almaz won bronze medal in 5000 m event at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics held in Moscow, Russia. In the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing, she won the 5000 m course beating Genzebe Dibaba by a long distance.
- At the 2016 Summer Olympics final, she recorded the fastest time in history for the
10,000 m event, topping by 14 seconds the previous world record of Chinese athlete Wang Junxia, which had stood for 23 years - She becomes the third Ethiopian woman to win this award, following Genzebe Dibaba in 2015 and Meseret Defar in 2007.
10,000 m event, topping by 14 seconds the previous world record of Chinese athlete Wang Junxia, which had stood for 23 yearsOTHER AWARDS
1.MALE RISING STAR: Andre De Grasse
At the age of 21, the Canadian sprinter earned the Olympic 200m silver medal in Rio.
2.FEMALE RISING STAR: Nafissatou Thiam
The 21 year old Belgian all-round talent won gold in the heptathlon at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
3.COACHING ACHIEVEMENT: Harry Marra
The US coach guided Ashton Eaton to his second successive decathlon gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
4.PRESIDENTS AWARD:Tegla Loroupe
Loroupe was the Chef de Mission for the Refugee Olympic Team in Rio.
5.WOMEN IN ATHLETICS: Polyxeni Argeitaki
This award recognises outstanding achievements and contributions made to develop, encourage and strengthen the participation of women and girls at all levels of the sport.
The IAAF Athlete of the Year award
The IAAF Athlete of the Year award founded in the year 1988, is a prize that can be won by athletes participating in events within the sport of athletics organised by the International Athletic Foundation of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), including track and field, cross country running, road running, and racewalking.
IAAF :
♦ Headquarters: Monaco
♦ President: Sebastian Coe