Sport
Jamaican sprinters Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce named IAAF Athletes of the Year 2013
Jamaican sprinters Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (l) with Usain Bolt IAAF annual athletics awards ceremony November 16 2013. PHOTO/Reuters
Jamaican sprint duo Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce have been named as the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) male and female World Athletes of the Year for 2013.
The 27-year-old Bolt, who also won the award in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012, successfully defended both his 100 and 200 meters titles at August’s world championships in Moscow, winning the latter in a 2013 world-leading time of 19.66.
He concluded his world championships by anchoring a Jamaican quartet to the gold in the 4x100m relay.
Bolt also won 10 out of his 11 100m races – including heats, and was unbeaten in his five races over 200m.
He beat off strong competition from British distance runner Mo Farah, who followed up on his 5,000-10,000m double at the London Olympics with two golds in Moscow.
Fraser-Pryce, 26, regained her 100m title in Moscow, her winning time of 10.71 the fastest of the year.
She also clocked the fastest 200m time of the year (22.13) at the Jamaican championships in June and went on to win world gold in Moscow.
Like her compatriot Bolt, she also anchored the Jamaican 4x100m team to victory, a national record and the second fastest time in history.
During the same occasion, IAAF president Lamine Diack criticized the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for what he called a “ridiculous” campaign against Jamaica and Kenya after the two athletics powerhouses were placed under scrutiny over anti-doping procedures.
“They are the most tested countries in the world. All this is ridiculous,” Diack said. “It is like WADA is making a campaign trying to make a statement. They went to Jamaica, what did they find? Nothing.”
“They have found and suspended some athletes which is positive and a good move,” Diack said. “We must stop all these. We are doing our best in athletics. You rarely hear of 4-year suspensions in football but they have doping concerns too.”
WADA had conducted an extraordinary audit of Jamaica’s anti-doping commission this month while Kenya has set up a government inquiry into allegations of widespread doping at its high-altitude training bases.
Source: Newswires