Africans off IAAF’s best athletes list

Bolt
| credits: File copy

The International Association of Athletics Federations on Tuesday released the final list of contenders for the best men and women athletes for 2013, with no African athlete making it.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the men’s finalists were Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, Bohdan Bondarenko of Ukraine and Mohamed Farah of Great Britain.

The women finalists were Valerie Adams of New Zealand, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica and Zuzana Hejnova of the Czech Republic.

The statement by the world athletics body said the IAAF had the pleasure in announcing the names of the athletes still in contention to become the 2013 World Athlete of the Year.

It said the Council of the International Athletics Foundation would select the male and female winners, with the announcement taking place during the 2013 World Athletics Gala.

The statement noted that the Gala would hold on Nov. 16 in Monaco.

Jamaican sprint sensation, Bolt, is the bookmakers’ favourite to win the male award, after an outstanding performance at the World Athletics Championships in Russia, where he won three gold medals.

Bolt, 27, has also won the IAAF Male Athlete of the Year four times – 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012.

He, however, would face a tough test in claiming his fifth successive title with Britain’s Farah, who is also a worthy contender for the 2013 best male athlete.

Farah won two gold medals at the World Athletics Championships in the men’s 10,000m and 5,000m, continuing his fine form from the 2012 London Olympics.

His career reached new heights as the Briton became only the second man in history to complete an Olympic and world ‘double’ in the distance events.

However, Bolt’s compatriot in the female category, Fraser-Pryce, also stands a good chance of claiming the female athlete of the year following her sterling performance in 2013.

Just like Bolt, Fraser-Pryce also won three gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m during the World Athletics Championships in August.