CARACAS, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan athlete Yulimar Rojas was selected on Saturday as the best female athlete of 2020 by World Athletics.
The triple jump athlete won four competitions this year, both indoors and outdoors, in addition to breaking the world indoor record with a historic 15.43 meters.
In an interview with World Athletics, Rojas said she was very surprised and happy with the historical distinction, adding that simply being nominated was a great achievement.
The other four finalists for the award were: Sifan Hassan, a 10,000m runner from the Netherlands; Letesenbet Gidey, a 5,000m runner from Ethiopia; Peres Jepchirchir, a half-marathon runner from Kenya; and Elaine Thompson-Herah, a 100m runner from Jamaica.
The winners of the World Athletics annual awards are decided by the World Athletics Council, which represents 50 percent of the votes, while the other 50 percent of the votes are divided between the general public and the World Athletics Family.
"Being the best athlete of the year 2020 is going to be a great motivation for 2021, a very beautiful year in which I have many aspirations and expectations," said Rojas, who will attend the Tokyo Olympic Games. Enditem
