Photo: Usain Bolt and Serena Williams were voted Athletes of the Year for 2015 by the International Sports Press Association (AIPS). (AP)
The accolades continue to pour in for Jamaican sprint superstar Usain Bolt who has been voted the Best Male Athlete of 2015 according to the International Sports Press Association (AIPS).
Bolt is receiving the award for the fifth time since his exploits at the Beijing Olympics Games. His previous victories came in 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2013. The triple Gold medallist from the 2015 World Championship polled a total of 804 votes (27.74%) to finish in front of Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic with 774 votes (26,71%), and Argentina and FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi with 380 votes (13,11%).
US tennis player Serena Williams with 664 votes (24,19%) won her third award, having secured the title 2012 and 2013. Williams continued her dominance in 2015, where she won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon Grand Slams and recorded her 700th career victory.
IAAF World Athlete of the Year 2015 Ethiopia’s world 1500m champion Genzebe Dibaba with 362 (13,19%) of the votes was second while the Dutch World 200m champion, Dafne Schippers was third with 283 (10,31%) of the votes.
The votes were cast by a panel of sports journalists from 91 different countries.
Other winners on the night were FC Barcelona who was named Best Team for 2015. Barcelona was dominant in 2015 having won the Spanish League, the Spanish Cup and the Champions League, before going on the win the Club World Cup in December.
FC Barcelona received a resounding 848 votes, followed by rugby world champions Team New Zealand with 506 votes, and NBA champions Golden State Warriors with 298 votes.
The overall winner of the Best Press Facility Award was the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, having received 366 votes and praise from the majority of the press.
The votes were close this year, with second place going to the press facilities of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada (305 votes) and third place to the 1st European Games in Baku (298 votes).
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