Monaco — As expected, world sprints sensation, Jamaica's Usain Bolt, was on Sunday night named the IAAF 2009 athlete of the year with American Sanya Richards voted the best female athlete.

After breaking two of his own world records by clocking 9.58 seconds in the 100 metres and 19.19 in the 200m, and helping Jamaica to the short relay gold at the World Championships in Berlin, Bolt's five sub 9.90 seconds times in the 100m and three sub 19.60s in the 200m always made him an easy choice for the judges and athletics fans who made the choice.

The other shortlisted men were double world champion Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia), world silver medallist Tyson Gay (USA), world pole vault champion Steven Hooker (Australia) and Andreas Thorkildsen (Norway) the javelin champion at the Berlin World Championships.

The women's nominees also had pole vault world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia), shot put world champion Valerie Vili (New Zealand), high jump gold medallist in Berlin Blanca Vlasic (Croatia) and Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland) who won the hammer throw title in Berlin with a world record hurl of 77.96 metres.

Fastest times

Sanya Richards also won a share of the million dollar Golden League jackpot and clocked four fastest times in the 400m in the season.

For the first time, the IAAF also honoured athletics journalism with 85-year-old German Gustav Schwenk rewarded as the top athletics journalist, rewarded for his 62 years of athletics journalism after having made his debut in the trade on October 16, 1947.

There were six journalists shortlisted for the award that recognizes global excellence in sports journalism with only one African writer making the shortlist.

Both Bolt and Richards have been world athletes of the year, Bolt winning it last year and the Jamaica-born Richards in 2006.

"I'm so excited and so overwhelmed to be a world champion and it's such a privilege to be in the company of Usain Bolt as the top athlete of the year," Richards said.

Bolt, who vividly recalled his tour of Kenya just over two weeks ago, was equally elated, saying that the road accident he suffered in Jamaica early in the season turned out to be a lucky sign.

"It has been an amazing year especially after the accident. I did extremely well and I'm proud of myself," he said. "In Jamaica they say if accidents don't kill you, they make you stronger."

They were scheduled to receive their awards at a globally televised ceremony at the Monte Carlo Sporting Club later last night in the presence of Prince Albert II, the ruler of Monaco.