Yelena Isinbayeva and Sanya Richards are among five athletes short-listed for the International Athletic Foundation’s (IAAF) Female Athlete of the Year award.
The ceremony will take place at the World Athletics Gala in Monte Carlo on November 22. Isinbayeva, the Russian pole-vaulter, failed to qualify for the World Championships final in August but quickly bounced back to set her 27th world record in Zurich ten days later.
Richards, who shared this summer’s IAAF Golden League Jackpot of $1million with Kenenisa Bekele and Isinbayeva, dominated the 400 metres last season and won the world title in Berlin.
Also nominated are New Zealand shot-putter Valeri Vili, who has gone unbeaten this year, plus high-jumper Blanka Vlasic, of Croatia, and Poland’s Anita Wlodarczyk, the hammer thrower, both of whom won world championship gold.