byLarry Eder
Usain Bolt, WC Berlin 2009, photo by PhotoRun.net.
Sanya Richards, WC Berlin 09, photo by PhotoRun.net
The bible of our sport, Track & Field News, announced their Athletes of the Year, Usain Bolt and Sanya Richards. Congrats to both, who ran fantastically this year! More on the their wins by Alfons Juck, EME News:
Bolt and Richards also by Track & Field News
MOUNTAIN VIEW (USA): Jamaican supersprinter Usain Bolt and US 400 m runner Sanya Richards are Athletes of the Year 2009 also by Track and Field News. Both were honoured already in November World Best Athletes of the Year by IAAF in Monte Carlo. Bolt got perfect score from 32 TFN panellists, Richards had 89.1 percent score with 16 first places. Bolt repeated his win from 2008 and since 2006 only sprinters are winning. In the men section clear second for Kenenisa Bekele (268) ahead of Tyson Gay (218) who is one of the highest non-winners of major title placed athletes in the history of the poll. In the full results only one other non world champion emerged Kenyan 800 m runner David Rudisha as 16th with four points. Best European is Andreas Thorkildsen as seventh, he is also best thrower. Best jumper Dwight Phillips placed sixth. In the women order Blanka Vlasic (best European) got nine first places and was second ahead of shot putter Valerie Vili (five first places) and hammer thrower Anita Wlodarczyk (one first place). Best distance runner is Marta Dominguez as 13th. Two non world champions got votes, Yelena Isinbayeva as 5th and Carmelita Jeter as 7th. Richards already won this vote in the past in 2006.
Full results
men: 1. Bolt 320, 2. Bekele 268, 3. Gay 218, 4. Merritt 189, 5. Hooker 174, 6. Phillips 173, 7. Thorkildsen 117, 8. Cantwell 79, 9. Wanjiru 75, 10. Hardee 46, 11. Kemboi 41, 12. Kozmus 17, 13. Clement 16, 14. Idowu 14, 15. Borchin 9, 16. Rudisha 4
women: 1. Richards 285, 2. Vlasic 240, 3. Vili 228, 4. Wlodarczyk 207, 5. Isinbayeva 188, 6. Felix 177, 7. Jeter 100, 8. Savigne 99, 9. Walker 53,. 10. Ennis 43, 11. Kaniskina 42, 12. Reese 28, 13. Dominguez 21, 14. Foster-Hylton 15, 15. Jamal 13, 16. Masai 11, 17. Semenya 10
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