Today's Headlines
- Two Exhibitions Are On At Ramoma, Nairobi
- Country to Review Tourism Law
- Econet Wireless Finally Rolls Out
- Odinga Warns of Civil Unrest
- Mulee Rules Out Harambee Stars U-Turn
- Taking Up a Women's Agenda
- More Than 6,000 Christian Youth Converge for Prayers
- Catholic Church Outraged By MPs' Refusal to Pay Tax
- Pope Benedict Praying for Release of Abducted Nuns
- Thousands Flee Amid Fears of Border Clashes
- Malaria Rates Plummet Among Children
- Winning Against HIV Stigma Behind Bars
- First Congress of Federation of African Journalists a Historic Milestone, Says IFJ
- Archbishop Lele Urges State to Act as Food Crisis Bites
- Regional Workshop Focus Border Management, Irregular Migration
- Silverbird Acquires Kenya's Nu Metro, Starts Operations in Ghana
- Raila is Evil, Says Minister
- Man Charged With Abduction of Two Catholic Sisters
- UN Censures State On Torture
- Agencies Seek $390 Million to Offset Climate And Food Risks
- UN-Backed Scheme Gives 3,000 Prisoners Clean Water and Sanitation
- Samosa Festival is On in Nairobi
- Heartstrings in Another Comedy
- Govts, Investors Engage RVR in Rail Bid
- Mwangi Replaces Mwebesa At NSE
- Riepa Hosts Business Association
- ICTR Petitions UN for Arrest of Kabuga
- UBA to Invest SH360 Billion in Kenya
- Free Movement of People Too, Not Just Goods and Capital
- Judges Running Out of Money?
New Vision (Kampala)
November 13, 2008
News Article By Jacobs Odongo
ONE of the best things with sport is that it ends twice, each spectacularly in its own right, giving athletes and fans, first the grand finale and then the climax.
So, to end the 2008 season, we have to behold the glamour that the 2008 World Athletics Gala in Monaco on November 23, will treat the sporting world to.
The prestigious annual global athletics awards night, as well as the crowning of the 2008 World Athletes of the Year (man and woman), will witness the announcement of the 2008 top performers live on stage.
You could be forgiven for not having been part of the voting process which determined the three short-listed candidates for world athletes of the year.
But you will not have excuses to sit out and not participate in the other big item on the menu: voting for the performance of the year. The world athletes of the year voting was closed to the public on November 9.
Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele, Usain Bolt from Jamaica and Cuba's Dayron Robles are the finalists for the men.
Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia, Russian Yelena Isinbayeva and Kenya's Pamela Jelimo will battle for the women's honour.
Those who missed the chance to say whether Jamaican Usain Bolt's Beijing Olympic heroics should supersede that of Ethiopia's long distance king, Kenenisa Bekele, or failed to choose between the invincible Russian pole vaulter queen, Yelena Isinbayeva, and another Ethiopian female untouchable Tirunesh Dibaba, still have a chance.
Each vote counts; you enjoyed the season, it is time to reward your joy.
Weighed at 70%, the IAAF family vote consists of 1512 recipients including IAAF council members, member federations, committee and commission members, meeting directors, ambassadors, and staff members; leading athletes, athletes' representatives, and selected members of the international press.
Thirty percent will weigh from the online public vote. Voting closes on Sunday, November 16.
The winners of the 2008 World Athlete of the Year Awards will be announced live during the 2008 World Athletics Gala in a fortnight. To vote online, one can visit www.iaaf.org.
