Elaine Thompson-Herah and Karsten Warholm named World Athletes of the Year after Tokyo 2020 masterclasses
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Published 02/12/2021 at 09:48 GMT
Elaine Thompson-Herah completed a second successive Olympic sprint double, while Karsten Warholm also starred at Tokyo 2020 with a mesmeric shattering of the 400m hurdles world record en route to a stunning gold medal. America's teenage 800m Olympic champioin Athing Mu was named the female rising star while compatriot Erriyon Knighton took the equivalent men's gong.
Warholm and Thompson-Herah named World Athletes of the Year
Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah and Norwegian hurdler Karsten Warholm have been named World Athletes of the Year by World Athletics.
The pair were two of the stars of Tokyo 2020, with Thompson-Herah completing a second successive sprint double and Warholm shattering the 400m hurdles record in a stunning final.
It is the first time that either has earned the honour.
There were also gongs for a pair of prodigious Americans at the World Athletics Awards 2021, with Athing Mu named Female Rising Star after winning Olympic gold as a 19-year-old as part of an unbeaten year over 800 metres, and 17-year-old Erriyon Knighton securing the male equivalent award having finished fourth in the 200m in Japan.
Thompson-Herah also lowered her own personal best and became the second-fastest woman in history over both 100 metres and 200 metres in a stunning season for the 29-year-old, who secured a third gold in Tokyo as part of the Jamaican sprint relay quartet.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2021/08/03/3192712-65409508-2560-1440.jpg)
'No woman has done that before!' - Thompson-Herah seals stunning sprint double with 200m gold
“I just take it year by year,” said Thompson-Herah. “I went very close to the world record so you know, anything is possible. No spikes hanging up any time soon!
“The World Championships in Oregon is most definitely my next big target. It is close to home, I hope friends and family can come out and watch. I hope I get some crowd as well. That couldn’t happen in Tokyo but hopefully in Eugene I can get my friends and family to come and cheer me on.”
Warholm, meanwhile, cemented his place as one of the stars of the track with victory in a remarkable 400m hurdles final to take his first Olympic gold.
Having broken the long-standing world record of Kevin Young in Oslo earlier in the summer, the Norwegian survived the challenge of Rai Benjamin in a breathtaking romp around the Tokyo track to become the first man in history to run below 46 seconds in the event.
Bronze medallist Alison dos Santos of Brazil ran the fourth-fastest time in history.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2021/08/03/3191945-65394168-2560-1440.jpg)
‘Simply stunning!’ - Warholm smashes own world record to win hurdles gold
“I’m so happy for this,” said Warholm. “First when I saw the time (in Tokyo), I was like, ‘This must be a mistake!’ Because I didn’t see that one coming. And I didn’t see the victory coming before crossing the finish line.
“It was a very intense race, I knew the American and the Brazilian and all the other guys were really chasing me. I always go out hard and I never know what is going on behind me. I was just fighting all the way to the finish line. When I realised 45.94 was the reality, I was thinking: ‘This is not too bad. I’ll take it!’"
The "Inspiration Award" was given to Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy, who elected to share gold in the men's high jump at Tokyo 2020 after each battling serious injury in the build-up to the delayed Games.
Tamberi revealed that he now calls Barshim "five times a week", having become great friends with his fellow Olympic champion.
Bobby Kersee, coach of Allyson Felix and Sydney McLaughlin, won the Coaching Achievement Award while former long jumper Anju Bobby George was named Woman of the Year for her work in her native India.
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement