The nominees of the 2016 RJR Sportsman and Sportswoman Awards were announced on Thuesday, December 9th, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. Next year's staging of the event will mark its 55th anniversary.
Usain Bolt, who won the 100m 200m and helped Jamaica to gold in the men's 4x100m in Beijing, and double gold medal winner at the 2015 IAAF World Championships Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce head the list of the eleven track and field athletes nominated for the event, set for January 15 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston
The other male athletes nominated are:
1) Ferdick Dacres for winning a gold medal in the discus throw at this the 1th staging of the Pan American games held in Toronto, Canada. Dacres tossed the discus 64.80m.
2) O’Dayne Richards for his bronze performance in the shot put event at the 2015 World Championships held in Bejing. He equaled his own national record by throwing 21.69m which won him gold at the 17th Pan American Games.
3) Hansle Parchment in his silver medal run in the 110m hurdles at the 2015 World championships. Parchment ran a season’s best time of 13.03 seconds.
4) Rasheed Dwyer for smashing the great Donald Quarrie’s 44-year-old 200m record (19.86) by running 19.80 seconds in the semi finals at the Pan American Games. Dwyer went on to the final to cop a silver medal.
Other female Nominees
1) Veronica Campbell-Brown for clocking a season’s best run of 21.97seconds at the 2015 World Championships held in Bejing China. Campbell-Brown walked away with a bronzed medal in the event.
2) Elaine Thompson for capturing the silver medal at the 2015 IAAF World Championships. She ran a personal best time of 21.66 seconds for the second fastest of the year.
3) Shericka Jackson for claiming the bronze medal at the 2015 IAAF World Championships with a personal best time of 49.99 seconds.
4) Sherone Simpson with her fastest time in seven years, 10.95 seconds, to win the 100m title at the Pan American Games, Simpsons time of 10.95 seconds was her season’s best.
5) Danielle Williams for grabbing gold in the 100m hurdles at the 2015 IAAF World Championships in a personal best time of 12.57seconds.
They will be up against boxer Alicia Ashley and Swimming sensation and reigning RJR National Sportswoman- of-the-Year Alia Atkinson.