Botswana’s Olympic 800m silver medalist Nijel Amos is relishing his nomination for the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) Athlete of the Year. Amos told the local media he was delighted to be recognized among the best athletes in the world. He said he had a very good season and was thankful for his South African based coach for a good job in preparations. The IAAF announced the names of the 10 men and 10 women who have been shortlisted for the 2014 World Athlete of the Year Award. The 20-year-old Amos is among the contenders for the coveted price in world athletics. He just had a breakthrough season in the world athletics winning the diamond in the IAAF diamond league and clocking the best time for the year at Oregon, U.S earlier in the year. He went on to beat Olympic gold medalist Kenyan David Rudisha to clinch gold at the Glasgow Commonwealth games. His final race of the season was at the continental cup where he helped Africa win gold in the 800m. Amos said winning the award will be a big bonus for his as he wants to keep on improving.
The candidates have been selected by an international panel of athletics experts which include representatives from all six continental areas of the IAAF. An email poll involving the World Athletics Family began on Friday, Oct. 3, and will close on Thursday, Oct. 16. At the conclusion of the voting process, three male and three female finalists will be selected and announced by the IAAF. The Council of the International Athletics Foundation will then select the male and female winners, with the announcement taking place live on stage during the 2014 World Athletics Gala on Friday, Nov. 21, 2014.
Courtesy of standardmedia.co.ke