IAAF Athletes of the Year

Olympic champions Usain Bolt, of Jamaica, and Yelena Isinbayeva, of Russia, were named 2008 World Athletes of the Year. Bolt, 22, captured three gold medals at the Olympic Games in Beijing in August, sweeping the 100 and 200 metres and running the third leg on the victorious 4x100m relay. Isinbayeva, 26, raised her own world record in the pole vault to 5.05 in Beijing. While Bolt was an overwhelming favourite for the sport's top annual prize, Isinbayeva just edged out Ethiopian distance runner Tirunesh Dibaba. Bolt and Isinbayeva each received $100,000.