Bolt, Farah in line for Athlete of the Year

A big prize is up for grabs and competition in fierce in the world of athletics as Usain Bolt, the world's fastest man, joined world high jump champion Bohdan Bondarenko and double Olympic and world 10,000 and 5,000 metres champion Mo Farah in the shortlist for the male Athlete of the Year award announced on Monday.

Bolt, who has won the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) award four times in the last five years, will be aiming to make it three in a row in the year he became the most successful athlete in world championship history.

The Jamaican won golds in the 100m, 200m and 4x100 relay at the Moscow world championships in August to take his all-time tally to eight golds and two silvers.

He faces competition for the award from Britain's Farah, who added a distance double in Moscow to the one he managed at the 2012 London Olympics, and Ukraine's Bondarenko, who cleared 2.41 metres to win gold in the Russian capital.

The women's shortlist will be released on Tuesday with the winners of the awards being announced during the World Athletics Gala in Monaco on November 16, the IAAF said on its website (www.iaaf.org).

Image: Mo Farah and Usain Bolt

Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Reuters