JOIN US Olympic champions Usain Bolt and Mo Farah are among the Olympic track and field stars nominated on Tuesday for the World Athlete of the Year award.
The sport’s governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), announced 10 nominees for each of the men’s and women’s categories.
All the nominees have won at least one gold medal at the recently held London Olympics. In addition to 100M and 200M winner Bolt and endurance champion Farah, the men’s list includes David Rudisha, who shattered the 800M world record in the final.
If Bolt wins, it would be the fourth time he has won the award in five years while Rudisha could regain the title he won in 2010.
American runner Allyson Felix takes her place among the nominees for the women’s award after becoming the first female track athlete to win three gold medals at a single Olympics since 1988.
Australian hurdler Sally Pearson could retain the award she won last year while American runner Sanya Richards-Ross was Athlete of the Year in 2006 and 2009.
Eight of the athletes are world record holders in a total of 10 events.
The US accounts for six of the 20 athletes nominated while three Jamaicans made the lists.
The nominees: Men: Yohan Blake (Jamaica), Usain Bolt (Jamaica), Ashton Eaten (US), Mo Farah (Britain), Robert Harting (Germany), Kirani James (Grenada), Renaud Lavillenie (France), Aries Merritt (US), David Rudisha (Kenya), Christian Taylor (US). Women: Valerie Adams (New Zealand), Tirunesh Dibaba (Ethiopia), Jessica Ennis (Britain), Allyson Felix (US), Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica), Yelena Lashmanova (Russia), Sally Pearson (Australia), Brittney Reese (US), Sanya Richards-Ross (US), Barbora Spotakova (Czech Republic).