1) Almaz Ayana
Our highest ranked African athlete for the year is Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana, and yes, she is the second athlete we had in mind when we mentioned Africans who broke World Records (WR) in 2016.
Since Ayana made a complete switch to long distance races a few years ago having previously competed in the Steeplechase, her career has grown in leaps and bounds as she practically attempts WR feats in any race she lines up for.
Such has been Ayana’s meteoric rise that she was named Female Athlete of the Year by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) at a gala event in Monte Carlo held earlier in December.
In her second competitive 10,000m on the track after running the fastest time ever recorded in a debut for the 10,000m with a then World Lead (WL) of 30:07.00, Ayana left all awestruck after smashing Wang Junxia’s 23-year old WR of 29:31.78, shaving off as much as 14s to set a new one of 29:17.45.
It was a breathtaking performance never seen in the history of Athletics, considering that she had been focusing on breaking the 5000m WR all season, having narrowly missed it at the Rome Diamond League clocking 14:12.59, less than 2s shy of Tirunesh Dibaba’s WR of 14:11.15.
Having exerted so much running the 10000m, four days later Ayana couldn’t recreate that performance as she settled for Bronze in the 5000m, but it must be noted that she went out too early while chasing the WR, which made her burn out so early.
Ayana by all means deserves all the accolades that have come her way, always giving the spectators something to cheer and remember whenever she is competing. She might have won her first Athlete of the Year Award a few weeks ago, but we are quite confident that she could go on to rake in more in years to come.
So do you agree with our ratings or is there someone you think should have made the list? Why not reach out to us in the comment section or on our social media platforms and let’s have your thoughts.
