Usain Bolt, Almaz Ayana crowned 2016 IAAF World Athlete of the year award

Sprint king Usain Bolt from Jamaica has been awarded the 2016 IAAF World Athlete of the Year award in male category for sixth time. Earlier he had won it in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
He was rewarded for his blistering performance in 2016 season in which he won three gold medals (100m, 200m and 4x100m relay) at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Bolt had won three gold medals, each in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4×100 meters at the Rio Olympics, repeating his feats of the 2012 London Games and in Beijing in 2008.
Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia won the award in women’s award category. She was presented with the award for her world-record run to win Olympic gold medal in the 10,000 meters. She is the third Ethiopian woman to win this award following Genzebe Dibaba (2015) and Meseret Defar (2007).

Other awards

• Male Rising Star: Andre De Grasse (Canada).
• Female Rising Star: Nafissatou Thiam (Belgium).
• Coaching Achievement: Harry Marra (US).
• President’s Award: Tegla Loroupe.
• Women in Athletics: Polyxeni Argeitaki (Greece).

About IAAF World Athlete of the year award

The awards are presented annually by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The winners are chosen by athletics officials, athletes, journalists and an online public poll.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2016