Caribbean Athletes Are Finalists For 2016 IAAF World Athlete Of The Year Awards

Usain Bolt at the Crown Oaks Day recently in Australia.

By NAN Sports Editor

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Nov. 11, 2016: Two of the Caribbean’s top Olympians are among the finalists for the 2016 IAAF World Athlete of the Year awards.

With less than a month to go until the Awards 2016, the IAAF revealed that Jamaican Triple Olympian Usain Bolt and Elaine Thompson, the first female Jamaican sprinter to win the 100 metres and 200 metres at the Olympic Games, are among the male and female finalists for this year’s honors.

Bolt, a five-time former winner of the award faces competition from Britan’s Mo Farah and Russia’s Wayde van Niekerk for the title of 2016 IAAF World Athlete of the Year award – Men.

Thompson is facing competition from Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia and Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland for the title of 2016 IAAF World Athlete of the Year award – Women.

Elaine Thompson after winning in Rio 2016.

The finalists were determined by a three-way voting process. The IAAF Council’s vote counted for 50 percent of the result, the IAAF  member federations, IAAF Committee members, IAAF meeting directors, IAAF athlete ambassadors, athletes’ representatives, top athletes, members of the international press, IAAF staff members and the IAAF’s official partners. vote counted for 25 percent and a public vote, conducted via social media, counted for 25 percent of the final result.

The World Athletes of the Year will be announced live on stage at the IAAF Athletics Awards 2016 in Monaco next month.