For the first time, Usain Bolt did not lead the list of the most written-about athletes of the year, according to data from media analysis company Unicepta.
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Despite not being at the top of the list, Bolt remains in the top five even five years after his retirement.
The top five athletes in terms of media coverage for 2022 were India’s Neeraj Chopra, the Olympic men’s javelin champion.
Four Jamaican sprinters: Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson, and Bolt, followed in that order.
Thompson-Herah won the Tokyo 2020 sprint double but finished third behind Fraser-Pryce and Jackson at the Eugene 2022 World Athletics Championships. Fraser-Pryce won her fifth women’s 100m title, while Jackson took gold in the half-lap event.
Fraser-Pryce told journalists at the end of the 100m final in Eugene 2022: “It’s my favourite – the world title in the 100, so it’s definitely special, and I’m doing it at 35. Yes, I said 35. So I’m thankful for that. I’m always trusting myself and my coach and believing in my abilities.”
World Athletics, earlier this week, said, “Some standout athletes to watch this year include Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the current world 100m champion, Shericka Jackson, who will defend her 200m title, and Elaine Thompson-Herah, the Olympic sprint double champion.
Some of the other notable rising talents in the sport who have not reached this level of media attention include Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis, Norway’s Karsten Warholm and Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas, and the US’s Athing Mu and Sydney McLaughlin.
