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Three Caribbean male athletes stood tall earlier today, literally and figuratively, as the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) announced its 2011 World Athlete of The Year in Monaco. Jamaica’s Usain Bolt took the top honor, walking away with US$100,000 and a trophy: his good friend, training partner and compatriot Yohan Blake won the Performance of the Year award; and Grenada’s Kirani James took home an award for rising stars.
The 25-year-old Bolt successfully defended his World 200m title in Daegu, when he clocked 19.40secs, the second fastest performance of the year, and ended the season undefeated in four 200m races. He also anchored the Jamaica’s sprint relay team to a 37.04 world record victory and clocked the fastest 100m in 2011 at 9.76.
This is Bolt’s third time taking the award, winning it in 2008 and 2009.
Soon after his 100m victory at the World Championships, Blake, 21, showed the world that his win wasn’t a fluke, and with a blazing 19.26 run in the Samsung Diamond League Final in Brussels, he reminded fans of the sport that he is a torrid force in the 200m event. His performance, which was just 0.07 seconds off Bolt's world record and more than half a second faster than his previous personal best of 19.78 in 2010, has placed Blake into the event's No. 2 position all-time.
Two days before his 19th birthday, James, a World Youth and World Junior champion, defeated the reigning Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt for gold in a 400m thriller in Daegu, doing so in 44.60. Nine days later, he won again in Zurich with 44.36, the second fastest time of the year, as well as a Grenada national record.
On the women’s side, 25-year-old first-time nominee Sally Pearson of Australia ran away with the top prize: US$100,000 and a trophy. Pearson dominated the women's 100m hurdles this year, losing only one of 11 races when she fell on a hurdle at the IAAF Track and Field Diamond League Final in Brussels. She produced seven of the season's fastest 11 times, but the highlight was her stunning 12.28 win in Daegu, which made her the fourth fastest woman of all time with the fastest performance in almost 20 years.
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