Karsten Warholm and Elaine Thompson-Herah named World Athletics Athletes of the Year
Thompson-Herah and Warholm have both had a season of remarkable performances in track and field
World Athletics has announced the winners for the 2021 Athlete of the Year award. Olympic champions Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica and Karsten Warholm of Norway were named the Athletes of the Year at the 2021 World Athletics Awards ceremony, held virtually on Wednesday.
Olympic champions @FastElaine ?? and @kwarholm ?? crowned World Athletes of the Year.
This way ? for the full list of winners at this year's #WorldAthleticsAwards
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) December 1, 2021
The winners were selected by an international panel of athletics journalists and council representatives from World Athletics, and fans on social media.
Both Thompson-Herah and Warholm have had a season of remarkable performances in track and field at the Olympic Games and one-day meets on the World Athletics circuit.
Thompson-Herah ran the second-fastest 100m in history this year, running 10.54 at the Diamond League’s Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore. She also defended her Olympic 100m and 200m titles in Tokyo, adding a third gold medal in the 4x100m relay for Jamaica.
Athing Mu wins the women’s 800m in her Olympic debut, Thompson-Herah gets the double-double
In an interview with World Athletics, Thompson-Herah said, “I just take it year by year. I was very close to the world record, so anything is possible.” She noted that she isn’t planning on hanging up the spikes anytime soon, and hopes to compete at the World Championships next summer in Eugene.
Warholm ran one of the most remarkable performances in recent Olympic history, when he stormed down the final stretch for gold in the 400m hurdles. When he first saw his time, he was in total disbelief. His initial reaction was, “This must be a mistake!” he said to World Athletics.
He also broke the world record at a Diamond League meet in Oslo in the lead-up to the Olympics (46.70). But his race to remember was when Warholm shocked the world to claim gold in stunning fashion, setting a new 400m hurdles world record of 45.94, in what was an Olympic final, where the top three athletes all finished inside the pre-2021 world record of 46.78.
"This award shows all young girls that dreams can indeed come true."
800m and 4x400m Olympic champion @athiiing is this year's Female Rising Star of the Year #WorldAthleticsAwards pic.twitter.com/541GVUlIpL
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) December 1, 2021
The other awards presented were the Rising Star Award, to up-and-coming U.S. track stars Athing Mu and Erriyon Knighton, and the Inspiration Award, to co-high-jumper gold medallists Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy and Mutaz Barshim of Qatar.
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