Monte-Carlo – After the conclusion of the last World Athletics Series competition of the year, the IAAF/Sinopec World Half Marathon in New Delhi, the IAAF has the pleasure to announce the 10 male and 10 female athletes who have been selected as candidates for the 2010 World Athletes of the Year Award.

Candidates for the World Athlete of the Year Awards
Athletes listed in alphabetical order

Women

Veronica Campbell Brown JAM
World Indoor champion at 60m. World leads at 100m (10.78) & 200m (21.98) and unbeaten at the longer distance

Milcah Chemos Cheywa KEN
Seven out of 11 wins at 3000m Steeplechase and second in the other four races. Winner of the Diamond Race and Commonwealth Games titles and World lead of 9:11.71

Meseret Defar ETH
World Indoor and Continental Cup titles at 3000m. World lead 14:24.79 at 5000m, set indoors.

Jessica Ennis GBR

World Indoor and European champion at Combined Events with World leading marks at both Pentathlon (4937) and Heptathlon (6823)

Allyson Felix USA
Diamond Race titles at 200m and 400m, World Indoor relay gold and wins in 14 out of her 15 individual races

Fabiana Murer BRA

World Indoor and Diamond Race titles at Pole Vault. Set three South American records indoors and out

Nadezhda Ostapchuk BLR

World Indoor champion, European champion and Diamond Race winner at Shot Put, winning 12 times out of 13

Olga Rypakova KZK

World Indoor champion at Triple Jump. Won at Continental Cup with World lead and Asian record 15.25m

Blanka Vlasic CRO

Eighteen out of 20 wins at High Jump including seven out of seven wins in the Diamond League, the World Indoor and European Championships and the Continental Cup where she tied the World lead of 2.05m

Anita Wlodarczyk POL    

World record breaker at 78.30m and European bronze at Hammer Throw

Votes can be cast online at www.iaaf.org from today and until Sunday 7 November 2010, midnight Monaco time.