Bolt, Fraser-Pryce are IAAF athletes of the year

Usain Bolt and Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce with trophies.

Jamaican sprinters Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce were chosen world athletes of the year on Saturday amid increasing scrutiny into the efficiency of their country’s anti-doping programme.

Bolt received the IAAF award for the fifth time. He won the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay at the World Championships in Moscow last month. He won the same three races at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and 2009 worlds.

“It’s always an honour to be recognised by the IAAF and the fans as the athlete of the year,” Bolt said. “I just focus on doing great things, and staying focused is hard to do.”

Bolt finished ahead of world 5,000m and 10,000m champ Mo Farah of Britain and world high jump champ Bohdan Bondarenko of Ukraine.

Fraser-Pryce earned the award for the first time by regaining the 100m title at the worlds and anchoring the victorious 4x100m women’s relay. She also had the year’s best 200m time.

The other women nominees were world champion shot-putter Valerie Adams of New Zealand, and world hurdles champion Zuzana Hejnova of Czech Republic.

“I’m shocked and excited. It’s something that has been a dream of mine,” said Fraser-Pryce, who is the second Jamaican woman to win after Merlene Ottey in 1990. “Hard work is something that comes without saying for us to achieve the things we want.”

Both winners also received $100,000.

Jamaica’s anti-doping programme was audited by the World Anti-Doping Agency after a former Jamaica director alleged it didn’t drug-test its athletes for entire months before they dazzled at the London Games.

Ex-director Renee Anne Shirley indicated a near-complete breakdown in the agency’s out-of-competition testing from January 2012 to the Olympics.

Before the Herculis meeting in July, Fraser-Pryce walked out of a news conference in Monaco after doping questions following positive doping tests by American sprinter Tyson Gay and Jamaica’s Asafa Powell.

Powell, the former 100m world record-holder, and compatriot Sherone Simpson, a three-time Olympic medallist, tested positive for a banned stimulant.

Three-time Olympic gold medallist Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica also tested positive for a banned diuretic in May.

IAAF President Lamine Diack said: “We will not stint in our war against doping, and the IAAF has strongly urged WADA to return to a four-year sanction for athletes who commit a serious doping offence.”

— AP