Thompson-Herah and Warholm named World Athletes of the Year

Back-to-back Olympic double sprint champion Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica and Olympic 400m hurdles champion and world record holder Karsten Warholm of Norway have been named female and male World Athletes of the Year at the World Athletics Awards 2021, a ceremony held virtually on Wednesday, December 1, 2021.

Thompson-Herah produced one of the finest sprint seasons in history this year, retaining her Olympic 100m and 200m titles in Tokyo and adding a third gold medal in the 4x100m relay. On top of her Olympic triple, she also clocked world-leading times of 10.54 and 21.53 over 100m and 200m respectively, moving to second on the world all-time lists and coming within touching distance of the long-standing world records.

The 29-year-old become the third Jamaican woman to win after Merlene Ottey who won in 1990 and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in 2013.  Thompson Herah is the only Jamaican, who has been nominated for either the Male or Female Athlete of the Year award for 2021.

25-year-old, Warholm uncorked one of the most remarkable performances in athletics history when he stormed to gold in the 400m hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics. Having already broken the world record with 46.70 in Oslo in the lead-up to the Games, Warholm exceeded all expectations in the Japanese capital to claim gold in a stunning world record of 45.94.

In a race of incredible depth, the top three athletes finished inside the pre-2021 world record.