MONACO (AP) — Kenyan 800-meter runner David Rudisha and Croatian high jumper Blanka Vlasic have won the IAAF World Athlete of the Year awards.
Rudisha succeeded Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt on Sunday after breaking Wilson Kipketer’s 13-year-old world record twice within eight days in August.
Bolt missed the latter part of the season because of tightness in his lower back and was not nominated.
Rudisha clocked 1 minute, 41.01 seconds in the two-lap race on Aug. 29 at the Rieti meeting, shaving 0.08 seconds off the mark he set in Berlin the week before.
Vlasic won the world indoor championships and was also crowned European champion this year. She won 18 out of 20 competitions in 2010 and posted a season best of 6 feet, 834 inches.
