media_artricles :: 2013

Athlete of the Year double for Jamaica

Bolt, Fraser-Pryce steal the show

Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce featured in a memorable double for Jamaica at the IAAF World Athletics Gala, in Monaco, yesterday.

Bolt received the Male Athlete of the Year award for the third year running and fifth time overall, while Fraser-Pryce lifted the Female Athlete of the Year trophy for the first time in her career.

Bolt captured the men’s sprint double at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, Russia, and also anchored Jamaica to victory in the 4x100 metres relay.

Fraser-Pryce also bagged three gold medals in Moscow, winning the women’s 100m and 200m events and running the final leg in Jamaica’s sprint relay triumph.

Only twice before had athletes from the same country taken the IAAF’s top awards in the same year. World Athletes of the Year were first named in 1988, and the United States marked the occasion with a double, Carl Lewis and Florence Griffith-Joyner earning the awards. And in 1993, Colin Jackson and Sally Gunnell did the double for Great Britain.

Asked what other athletes needed to do to challenge him for Athlete of the Year honours, Bolt said:

“Set higher goals for yourself. What I did was to keep working out. That’s my focus every year. I don’t go into a season thinking I want to be Athlete of the Year. I just do my best to show the world I work hard and want to be a champion.”

Fraser-Pryce is the second Jamaican to be named IAAF Female Athlete of the Year, following in the strides of 1990 winner Merlene Ottey.

“I’m really excited to be actually Athlete of the Year,” said Fraser-Pryce. “It is something that has been a dream of mine, and it has finally been realised. It’s all due to hard work and being committed and dedicated. When I crossed that line in Moscow I immediately began to think about next year.”

France’s triple Olympic champion Marie-Jose Perec was among 12 athletes inducted into the IAAF Hall of Fame, yesterday.

Perec and her fellow inductees, American Harrison Dillard and Australian Marjorie Jackson spoke to the international media about Bolt.

Perec, who captured the women’s 400m title at the 1992 Olympics and followed up with the 200/400 double four years later, described Bolt as “a phenomenon”.

Dillard bolted to men’s 100m gold at the 1948 Olympics, and then secured the 110m hurdles title at the ’52 Games.

“Usain is the finest athlete of our time,” Dillard declared. “Times change, conditions change, so it’s difficult to say this is the greatest athlete that ever lived. Who knows what some other athlete from 100 years ago could have achieved in today’s circumstances.

“Changes in circumstances and conditions,” the American continued, “make it that much more difficult to compare what happened 40, 50, 60, 75 years ago. For instance, I never ran on a synthetic surface…advances in medicine and training and conditions and equipment. All of those things would have to be taken into consideration.”

Dillard’s decision to pursue athletics was inspired by another phenomenal athlete, 1936 quadruple Olympic champion Jesse Owens.

“Usain’s performances surpass Jesse, yes. But does that make Usain greater than Jesse? Not necessarily. When you consider the circumstances under which Jesse competed--not only the fact that he ran on cinders--but the political circumstances when he ran in Germany in 1936. Theories being espoused by (Adolf) Hitler at the time of Aryan supremacy, and a young black man from America comes and wins four gold medals. He must have been a pretty good athlete. It makes for good argument about who’s the best or who would have been the best.”

Jackson, who captured the women’s sprint double at the 1952 Olympics, acknowledged that conditions have changed over the years, but added that Bolt is a very special athlete.

“We all ran on cinders, so you take into account the way tracks changed. But it hasn’t changed to the degree that somebody runs like that. It’s a joy for me to see somebody so magnificent to watch. He’s one in a million to me.”

HONOUR ROLL

• Male Athlete of the Year—Usain Bolt (Jamaica
• Female Athlete of the Year—Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica)
• Rising Star Award—Mary Cain (USA)
• Distinguished Career Awards—Dwight Phillips (USA), Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia)
• Hall of Fame—Harrison Dillard (USA), Marjorie Jackson (Australia), Hannes Kolehmainen (Finland, posthumous), Natalya Lisovskaya (former Soviet Union), Svetlana Masterkova (Russia), Noureddine Morceli (Algeria), Parry O’Brien (USA, posthumous), Marie-Jose Perec (France), Viktor Saneyev (former Soviet Union), Yuriy Sedykh (former Soviet Union), Daley Thompson (Great Britain), Grete Waitz (Norway, posthumous)
• Male Masters Athlete of the Year—Charles Allie (USA)
• Female Masters Athlete of the Year—Christa Bortignon (Canada)
• Coaches Award—Alberto Salazar (USA)
• World Journalist Award—Gianni Merlo (Italy)
• Gazzetta dello Sport Candido Cannavo’ award—Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia)

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