Bolt, Fraser-Pryce are IAAF Athletes of The Year

Jamaica’s double sprint world record holder Usain Bolt and back-to-back Olympic 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce ran away with the Male and Female Athletes of The Year awards today at the 2013 World Athletics Gala in Monaco. It is the first time that a Jamaican pair has taken the prestigious titles awarded by the sport’s governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations, and only the third time in the history of the award.

The first compatriots to have done this were Carl Lewis and Florence Griffith-Joyner of the USA in 1988, followed by Colin Jackson and Sally Gunnell of Great Britain in 1993.

While this is Bolt’s fifth award, it was Fraser-Pryce’s first, making her the second Jamaican woman to cop the title after Merlene Ottey in 1990. Their compatriot Asafa Powell is the only other Jamaican male to have been named Male Athlete of the Year (2006). Both Bolt and Fraser-Pryce received coveted trophies and will collect a prize of US$100,000.

The 27-year-old Bolt who took the award in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012, defended both his 100m and 200m titles at the August World Championships in Moscow. He noted that “this season will be the one to go for the [200m] world record,” which stands at 19.19sec.

Fraser-Pryce, 26, regained her 100m title in Moscow with a 10.71 run, the fastest time of the year. She also went on to win gold in the 200m.

The fastest women in the world this year said she was shocked and excited about the award which has been a dream of hers and credited her Creator and the support of her family, friends and management. She also acknowledged the other finalists who made the shortlist, noting that she felt honored to have been shortlisted with them and to eventually come out on top.

The other male nominees were the Ukrainian high jumper Bohan Bondarenko and British distance runner Mo Farah, while the New Zealand shot-putter Valerie Adams and Czech hurdler Zuzana Hejnova were shortlisted for the women’s prize.