Usain Bolt nominated for Athlete of the Year 2009

November 11, 10:12 AMPhiladelphia Running ExaminerNatalie DiTullio

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Bolt at a press conference.

AP PHOTOS

The IAAF released their nominations for 2009 Athlete of the Year.  2008 winner Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world, should be the favorite.   Will he repeat?

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Also included are American Tyson Gay, Kenenisa Bekele from Ethiopia, Steven Hooker from Australia and Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway.   Throughout 2009, Bekele has been a rival of Bolt and is most likely the biggest threat to Bolt repeating.  The American Gay is a sprinter, whose events include the 100m and 200m.

See pictures of the nominees here.

For the women, 2008 winner Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia is a contender along with American Sanya Richards, Valerie Vili of New Zealand, Blanka Vlasic of Croatia, and Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland. Isinbayeva is a pole vaulter, while Richards is known for being one of the fastest women in the world.

The winner will be announced November 22nd.