Bolt in, Shelly out

André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

Olympic double sprint champion and world record holder, Usian Bolt, remains in contention for the 2012 IAAF Male Athlete of the Year award - his fourth - after being named among the three finalists by the sport's governing body on Monday.

American sprint hurdler Aries Merritt and Kenyan middle distance star David Rudisha are the other male finalists this year.

However, Olympic 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce - the other Jamaican shortlisted for the Female Athlete of the Year award - was not named among the three female finalists yesterday.

Valerie Adams, the Olympic, World Indoor and Diamond League champion in the shot put, Olympic Heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis and Olympic 200m champion Allyson Felix are the three women still in contention.

Fraser-Pryce had one of her best seasons since breaking on the scene four years ago, successfully defending her 100m Olympic title before claiming silver in the 200m, as well as the 100m title in the Samsung/IAAF Diamond League.

successful defence

Among the men Yohan Blake, the 100m and 200m Olympic silver medallist who last year received the award for Performance of the Year after his blistering 19.26 run in the 200m, did not make the top three this time around.

Bolt carved his name among the legends of sprinting after successfully defending the 100m and 200m titles he had won four years earlier in Beijing, China, before rounding off the year with the 100m title in the Samsung IAAF Diamond League. He also anchored Jamaica to a record 36.84 in the 4x100m finals at the Olympic Games.

He only lost twice this season - at the hands of Blake in the 100m and 200m at the National Trials.

Bolt is one of two three-time winners of the prestigious award. The winner will be announced at the IAAF's grand gala and centenary celebrations in Barcelona, Spain, on November 24 by the Council of the International Athletics Foundation.

The three finalists were determined from a worldwide vote by members of the international track and field family, including selected journalists, agents, coaches, member federations, committee members, IAAF staff members and top athletes.