byLarry Eder
Nafassitou Thiam, London World Champs 2017, photo by PhotoRun.net
It’s been a while since a heptathlete won the IAAF Athlete of the Year award. Jackie Joyner-Kersee was the last female multi eventer to win IAAF Athlete of year, and that was in 1994. Nafissatou Thiam dominated the multi events in 2017!
In 2016, Nafissatou won Rio, and won wondered, what could be better than that?
Well, in 2017, Nafissatou Thiam won the European Indoor Championships in Belgrade in March. She dominated the competition. In May, Nafi showed her fitness with a score of 7,013 with the iconic Gotzis Meeting. 7,013 is the third finest score ever by a heptathlete. Nafi then overwhelmed the field in London, taking gold in the heptathlon there.
Here perfect year ended perfectly, with the IAAF Athlete of the Year award!
We thought you might like to hear how Nafassitou Thiam spoke of her win in London!
One final thought: if you get the chance to watch Nafassitou compete, just do it. Nafassitou Thiam is the most dominant mult eventer on the globe.
Great that IAAF recognized a muti eventer!
The 2017 London World Championships Heptathlon awards presser, courtesy of The Shoe Addicts
