Rudisha shortlisted for 2012 IAAF World Athlete Athlete of the Year Award

Olympic and 800m world record holder David Rudisha is among top athletes shortlisted for the prestigious 2012 IAAF World Athlete of the Year Award.

The 23-year old who won the award in 2010, is the only male African athlete in the list of 10 men and will face other great athletes including Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and Somali-born Brit Mo Farah.

Reigning Olympic 10,000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia is also the only female African athlete shortlisted out of 10 women in the world.

After an email-based voting process conducted by the World Athletics Fraternity, 3 male and female finalists will be selected.

Winners will then be selected by the Council of the International Athletic Foundation and announced in a ceremony to be held in Barcelona, Spain at the 2012 Centenary Celebrations slated for 24^th of November.

Here is the list

Men

·         David Rudisha (Kenya)

·         Usain Bolt (Jamaica)

·         Yohan Blake (Jamaica)

·         Ashton Eaton (USA)

·         Mohamed Farah (GBR)

·         Robert Harting (Germany)

·         Kirani James (GRN)

·         Renaud Lavillenie (France)

·         Aries Merritt (USA)

·         Christian Taylor (USA)

Women

·         Tirunesh Dibaba (Ethiopia)

·         Jessica Ennis (GBR)

·         Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica)

·         Valerie Adams (New Zealand)

·         Yelena Lashmanova (Russia)

·         Sally Pearson (Australia)

·         Brittney Reese (USA)

·         Sanya Richards-Ross (USA)

·         Allyson Felix (USA)