Usain Bolt and Sally Pearson crowned IAAF Athletes of the Year

Usain Bolt                                                               Sally Pearson

I'm sure by now all would have heard the news, Jamaica's Usain Bolt and Australia's Sally Pearson copped the prestigious title IAAF 2011 Male and Female Athlete of the year.

Let's start with Sally. Up against Kenya's outstanding distance runner Vivian Cheruiyot and New Zealand's genius shot putter Valerie Adams, I think it's fair to say Pearson was the obvious choice. The Australian became one of the biggest highlights of the world championships, after she decimated the field in a thrilling 100m hurdles final, that saw her clock an astounding 12.28sec. The time was the 4th fastest EVER and the fastest we've seen in the event in two decades.

Pearson had a near perfect season, winning all her races but for her last at the Brussels Diamond League where she crashed into the 7th hurdle. I believe most track pundits had already picked Pearson long before the actual announcement was made.

Now to Usain Bolt. We can all agree the men's category was not easy pickings. Bolt found himself up against training partner Yohan Blake, a fast emerging track star who copped the glory event in Daegu and Kenya's David Rudisha, who is considered an 800m king. Compared to previous years Bolt's season was indeed less than perfect. However I think he got the edge because of the three finalists, he was the only one unbeaten all season. Yes he lost the 100m in Daegu but technically that was due to a false start. In all the races where he competed (meaning ran to the finish line) Bolt somehow got there first.

For many of us Blake will be remembered mostly for his jaw dropping 19.26 sec 200m race in Brussels but perhaps it came a little too late in the season. Another strike against Blake was the fact, he was beaten twice in the 100m earlier on in the year. Rudisha on the other hand, had an almost stellar year. The two lap champion won all but his final race of the season in Brussels. Still one could argue, that losing the last race of the season should hardly count in this instance. However it's rather hard to ignore that both Bolt and Blake shined in their final season performances. Added to that, the glory of the sprints almost always beats out the perseverance of the middle distance.

I tip my hat off to not only the winners but all the finalists and those who were nominated.