Bolt
and Ayana win IAAF awards
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[December 03, 2016]
By Mitch Phillips
MONACO
(Reuters) - Jamaica's Usain Bolt and Ethiopian distance runner Almaz
Ayana were crowned as the IAAF's athletes of the year on Friday.
Bolt completed his amazing Olympic "triple triple" of 100metres,
200metres and 4x100m relay golds at the Rio Games in August despite
missing much of the season through injury and took the award for the
sixth time.
He clocked season’s bests of 9.81 and 19.78 to win the 100m and 200m
in Rio and then anchored the Jamaican team to a world-leading 37.27
when winning the 4x100m.
He also went undefeated throughout the whole season at all
distances, including heats.
Bolt, 30, plans to run the 100m at next year's world championships
in London, seeking to add to his haul of 11 world titles.
Ayana produced a stunning run on the first day of athletics in Rio
when she shattered the 10,000-metres world record that had stood for
23 years.
Her time of 29 minutes, 17.45 seconds smashed the mark of 29:31.78
that was set by Wang Junxia of China in 1993.
Ayana also took bronze in
the Rio 5000m, her only loss of the year over the distance. She
ended the year as the Diamond Race winner for that discipline.
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![](../images/120316pics/sports55.jpg)
Usain Bolt of Jamaica (R) and Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia pose with
their awards after being elected male and female World Athlete of
the Year 2016 in Monaco, December 2, 2016. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Dec/03/images/ads/current/mcquellons_lda_christmas_2015.png)
She becomes the third Ethiopian
woman to win the IAAF award, following Genzebe Dibaba in 2015 and
Meseret Defar in 2007.
(Editing by Toby Davis)
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