Usain Bolt and Almaz Ayana win IAAF World Athlete of the Year Award

Nine-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt on 2 December 2016 won the IAAF male Athlete of the Year award. He won the award for the record sixth time.

Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana won the IAAF women Athlete of the Year award. Ayana broke the 10000m world record by over 14 seconds in winning Olympic gold in Rio in 2016.

Other Awards:

• Male Rising Star: Canada’s Andre De Grasse

• Female Rising Star: Belgium’s Nafissatou Thiam

• Women in Athletics: Greece’s Polyxeni Argeitaki

• Coaching Achievement: USA’s Harry Marra

• President’s Award: Tegla Loroupe

About Usain Bolt

• Usain Bolt is a Jamaican sprinter.

• He is regarded as the fastest human ever timed.

• He is the first man to hold both the 100 metres and 200 metres world records since fully automatic time became mandatory. He is also the world record holder as a part of the 4 × 100 metres relay. He is the reigning World and Olympic champion in these three events.

• He is an eleven-time World Champion.

• He is also known as "Lightning Bolt."

• His awards include the IAAF World Athlete of the Year, Track & Field Athlete of the Year and Laureus World Sportsman of the Year.

About Almaz Ayana

• Almaz Ayana is an Ethiopian female long-distance runner.

• She competes in the 3000 metres, 5000 metres and 10000 metres events.

• At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro,  she set a new 10000 metres world record and won the gold in the event.

About IAAF World Athlete of the Year

• The IAAF Athlete of the Year award is a prize that can be won by athletes participating in events within the sport of athletics organised by the International Athletic Foundation of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

• In 2015, United States’ Ashton Eaton won the IAAF male Athlete of the Year award. Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba won the IAAF women Athlete of the Year award.