Sally Pearson nominated for IAAF Athlete of the Year
IT was one of the comebacks of the year and the accolades continue to flow for Sally Pearson who has been named as one of 10 women short-listed for the honour of IAAF World Athlete of the Year.
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IT was one of the comebacks of the year and the accolades continue to flow for Sally Pearson who on Tuesday was named as one of 10 women short-listed for the honour of IAAF World Athlete of the Year.
The self-coached hurdler, who returned to full training late last month ahead of the Commonwealth Games, claimed her second world crown in London in August in a remarkable comeback from a serious wrist injury which sidelined her at the Rio Olympics.
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Just a fortnight ago, Pearson was also short-listed for the prestigious The Don award by the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in an acknowledgment of her achievement.
Pearson, who took to Twitte to express her delight at the honour of being short-listed by the IAAF, is up against the likes of South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya, Ethiopian distance star Almaz Ayana and Olympic champion pole vaulter Ekaterini Stefanidi of Greece for the award,.
“Wow! Wasn’t expecting this nomination. Shocked 2 be up this year against some remarkable athletes. Thank you [IAAF], I’m truly honoured,” Pearson tweeted.
The form Olympic champion and two-time world champion is the only Australian nominated on either the women’s or men’s short-list.
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Missing from the men’s short-list is Usain Bolt with the likes of Olympic champion Mo Farah and world 400m champion Wayde van Niekerk among the leading candidates.
A three-way voting process will determine the finalists with the IAAF Council and the IAAF Family casting votes by email while fans can vote online via the IAAF’s social media platforms.
Individual graphics for each nominee will be posted on Facebook and Twitter later this week with a ‘like’ or ‘favourite’ counting as one vote.
The IAAF Council’s vote will count for 50% of the result while the IAAF Family’s votes and the public votes will each count for 25% of the final result.
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The nominees for 2017 World Athlete of the Year are:
Women
Almaz Ayana (ETH), Maria Lasitskene (ANA), Hellen Obiri (KEN), Sally Pearson (AUS), Sandra Perkovic (CRO), Brittney Reese (USA), Caster Semenya (RSA), Ekaterini Stefanidi (GRE), Nafissatou Thiam (BEL), Anita Wlodarczyk (POL).
Men
Mutaz Essa Barshim (QAT), Pawel Fajdek (POL), Mohamed Farah (GBR), Sam Kendricks (USA), Elijah Manangoi (KEN), Luvo Manyonga (RSA), Omar McLeod (JAM), k Christian Taylor (USA), Wayde van Niekerk (RSA), Johannes Vetter (GER).