Limpopo born South African athletics star Caster Semenya is one of ten athletes to have been nominated by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) for the title of World Female Athlete of the Year.
Semenya, unbeaten in the 800 m this year, won gold at the Commonwealth Games, the Africa Championships and the Diamond League. She is also the Commonwealth champion in the 1 500 m and the Africa champion in the 400 m.
The selection was made by an international panel of athletics experts, comprising representatives from all six continental areas of the IAAF. It is the second consecutive year that the 27-year-old gets the nod and she will be hoping to make the shortlist of five athletes following a three-way voting process which closes on November 12.
She will go up against a host of global female superstars which includes Colombian horizontal jump specialist Caterine Ibarguen, Kenyan steeplechaser Beatrice Chepkoech and Bahamian sprinter Shaunae Miller-Uibo. A win will make her only the second South African female athlete to do so after Hestrie Cloete, former world high jump champion, who won the coveted accolade in 2003.
The female athlete of the year will be announced on
4 December in Monaco.
A statement released by IAAF on Monday informed that the IAAF Council and IAAF family will cast their votes by email, while fans can vote online via the IAAF’s social media platforms. Individual graphics for each nominee will be posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram this week.
It further stated that a ‘like’ on Facebook and Instagram or a retweet on Twitter will count as one vote. The IAAF Council’s vote will count for 50% of the result, while the IAAF family’s votes and the public votes will each count for 25% of the final result.
Voting for the Female World Athlete of the Year closes on 12 November. At the conclusion of the voting process, five men and five women finalists will be announced by the IAAF,” the statement read.
Story: Herbert Rachuene
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