Jamaican Usain Bolt and Elaine Thompson have been shortlisted for the IAAF’s World Athlete of the Year awards last week after capturing gold in the sprints at the recent Rio Olympics in Brazil.
Bolt, a five-time winner of the award, became the first athlete to win three consecutive 100 and 200 meters Olympic golds in Rio de Janeiro in August.
He also holds the world records in the two disciplines, 9.58 seconds and 19.19 seconds respectively.
Thompson matched Bolt’s feat by also winning the 100m and 200 golds in Rio.
The Jamaica rose to prominence as part of the gold medal-winning team in the 4×100 meters relay at the 2015 World Championships, where she also won a silver medal in the 200 meters.
At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Thompson completed a rare sprint double when she won gold in the 100 meter and the 200 meter, becoming the first female sprinter to do so since Florence Griffith Joyner at the Seoul Olympics in 1988.
Thompson currently ranks as the fifth-fastest women ever in the 200 meters event.
