The 2009 track and field season can be considered one for the ages. From the extraordinary and incomparable performances by Usain Bolt and his Jamaican teammates to the hurdling upset by Barbados’s Ryan Braithwaite and the consistency and gutsy performances of veteran Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie (Bahamas) and Josanne Lucas Trinidad & Tobago (T&T), 2009 was a phenomenal year for Caribbean athletics. It is, therefore, most fitting that we use this opportunity to give the following awards to the region’s athletes.
Man of the Year:
Usain Bolt (Jamaica): Not only did the Lightning Bolt continue to demolish world records on the biggest stages, reducing his 100m from 9.69 to 9.58 and his 200m record from 19.31 to 19.19. Bolt always “shows up” at all his meets. In sunshine, wind or rain, this athlete delivers. His charm and charisma along with his sheer dominance on the track make Usain “Lightning” Bolt the unquestionable Man of the Year.
Woman of the Year:
Melanie Walker (Jamaica): Walker, the reigning 400m hurdles Olympics champion started the season on a slow note due to injury but recovered on time to capture gold in the 400m hurdles (52.42 secs.) at the Berlin World Championship. Her child-like enthusiasm and playful demeanor were evident by her piggy-back moment with Berlino, the Games mascot. Walker seems to be mastering her craft and is well deserving of this honor. Honorable mention goes to Cuba’s Yargeris Savigne and Jamaica’s Brigitte Foster-Hylton.
Male Break-through Performance of the Year:
Ryan Braithwaite (Barbados): While there are several eligible candidates, such as Daniel Bailey (Antigua), Yohan Blake (Jamaica) and Renny Quow (T&T), the award goes to Barbados 110m hurdles champion, Ryan Braithwaite. The 21-year-old had a superb season, starting with victory at the National Junior College Championships and ending with World Championships gold. During the season, Braithwaite kept lowering the Barbados national record, eventually reducing his personal best to 13.14 secs. His performance was significant for Barbados, as he became the first major track and field champion for his island nation. Honorable Mention: T&T’s Renny Quow.
Female Break-Through Performance of the Year:
Josanne Lucas (Trinidad & Tobago): The 25-year-old Lucas had a superb season; she smashed her own T&T 400m hurdles national record and captured World Championships bronze in 53.20 secs, well below her previous national record 55.29. Her time of 53.20 in the 400m hurdles is faster than her personal best in the flat 400m (53.49). For an encore Lucas notched another bronze in her pet event (54.31) at the World Athletes Final in Thessaloniki. Lucas is well deserving of this award.
Honorable Mention: Kaliese Spencer (Jamaica) The 22-year-old 2006 World Junior 400m hurdles champion (55.11 secs) took her game to the next level this past season as she finished 4th in Berlin in her pet event in a personal best 53.56 secs. Spencer captured silver in the 400m hurdles (53.99 secs) at the World Athletics Final.
Most Consistent Female Athlete of the Year:
Kerron Stewart (Jamaica): While the Bahamian duo of Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie and Chandra Sturrup and Jamaica’s Sherika Williams are all deserving candidates for this award, the winner is Jamaica’s Kerron Stewart, who, at the start of the season decided to focus on the 100m rather than doubling in the 100m and 200m. Stewart had tremendous success this season; she won 4/5 of the 100m in the $1M Jackpot and capped her season with a silver medal in the 100m in Berlin.
Most Consistent Male Athlete of the Year:
Renny Quow: (Trinidad & Tobago): The 22-year-old Renny Quow had a tremendous season which saw him consistently in the medal hunt at meets. His World Championships bronze medal behind the USA duo of Merritt and Wariner is a fitting tribute to his season.
Rising Star:
Jehue Gordon (T&T): While the future seems bright for Caribbean athletics with the abundance of youth talent and athletic skills, one young athlete showing a sign that he will be a force to be reckoned with in the future is T&T’s Jehue Gordon. The then 17-year-old hurdling phenomenon started the season by capturing CARIFTA 400m hurdles gold in April and shocked the world by finishing 4th in the 400m hurdles final in Berlin in August. Gordon’s performance was very noticeably by his peers as veteran Danny McFarlane described him as having “the potential to be another Edwin Moses” and USA’s Kerry Clement said that Gordon “has a lot of talent.”
Resurgent Athlete of the Year:
Brigitte Foster-Hylton (Jamaica): This 35-year-old veteran has been around for a very long time but had not won any major championship. However, something clicked for her in Berlin and she took the 100m hurdles in a season’s best 12.51 secs from a high-quality field. Mission accomplished right? Not so fast, Foster-Hyton went on a roll and did not lose a single race after Berlin. She capped seven straight victories amid fierce competition from archrivals Pricilla Lopes- Schliep (Canada), Dawn Harper (USA) and countrywoman Dolloreen Ennis-London.
Iron Man Award:
Leonel Suarez (Cuba): This 22-year-old Cuban is silently becoming a force to be reckoned with in the Decathlon. Suarez, the 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze medalist (8527 points), took drastic steps forward in 2009 to take the World Championships silver with 8640 points. His personal best of 8654 points earned him gold at the 2009 Central American & Caribbean Games in his homeland Cuba.
Most Resilient Woman Award:
Shelly-Ann Fraser (Jamaica): The reigning 2008 Beijing Olympics 100m champion had her surgery in the first half the season to remove her appendix. Shelly-Ann was unable to train for a while and fell several weeks behind in her schedule. She could not lift weights and her challenges were compounded by a hamstring injury. Fraser’s below-average performance in the first half of the season had her critics wondering whether she was just a “one-hit wonder.” But the resilient champion worked and worked, and peaked at the right time to capture World Championships 100m gold in a then world-leading (10.73 secs). Fraser is well deserving of this award as she was able to overcome surgery and injury to win the coveted gold.
Honorable Mention: Veronica Campbell-Brown (Jamaica): VCB had to overcome numerous injuries and was forced to run the race of her life in the 200m against Allyson Felix to notch silver.
Most Inspiring Performance:
Asafa Powell (Jamaica): The question on everyone’s mind going into Berlin was: Which Asafa Would Show up in Berlin? The Asafa who showed up in Berlin gave a valiant effort for 3rd in a season best 9.84 secs. Powell, the former 100m record holder with a personal best 9.72, was plagued by injuries during the season. His tendency to falter at major championships has been his Achilles heel but he fought gallantly for World Championship bronze, behind countryman Usain Bolt (9.58) and USA’s Tyson Gay (9.71)
Female Field Athlete of the Year:
Yargeris Savigne (Cuba): The 25-year-old was a consistent performer all season long. She had a world-leading leap of 14.95m in the triple jump and defended her title in Berlin. Savigne performed with such style and grace is very exciting to watch. Her compatriot Mabel Gay who garnered silver in Berlin deserves honorable mention for this award.