Bekele, Isinbayeva named athletes of year again

MONACO – Kenenisa Bekele and Yelena Isinbayeva were named as the International Association of Athletics Federations’ (IAAF) male and female athlete of the year for the second consecutive season on Saturday.

Ethiopian Bekele, 23, retained the world 10 000-metres title in Helsinki last month after winning the world cross-country championships long- and short-course titles for the fourth successive year. He also broke his own world 10 000-metres record by nearly three seconds at the Brussels Golden League meeting.Isinbayeva, also 23, became the first woman to jump five metres at the London grand prix, then set her 18th world record with 5.01 metres after winning her first world title in Helsinki.In other presentations at the IAAF’s annual gala dinner at the end of the two-day world athletics final, American sprinter Justin Gatlin received the award for the best men’s performance of the season after completing the 100-200 double in Helsinki.Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba won the women’s award after securing the 5 000-10 000 double in Finland.- Nampa-ReutersHe also broke his own world 10 000-metres record by nearly three seconds at the Brussels Golden League meeting.Isinbayeva, also 23, became the first woman to jump five metres at the London grand prix, then set her 18th world record with 5.01 metres after winning her first world title in Helsinki.In other presentations at the IAAF’s annual gala dinner at the end of the two-day world athletics final, American sprinter Justin Gatlin received the award for the best men’s performance of the season after completing the 100-200 double in Helsinki.Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba won the women’s award after securing the 5 000-10 000 double in Finland.- Nampa-Reuters