The virtually held World Athletics Awards were given out on Saturday, the 5th of December. The prize category of the best athletes in the world was awarded to Mondo Duplantis of Sweden for the male category, whereas the female counterpart of the award-recipient was Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela.
Duplantis only recently celebrated his 21st birthday and is the youngest athlete ever to receive the award.
The youngster was ecstatic about receiving the award ahead of so many of the world’s greatest physical spectacles.
“It was a really strange season, for me and everybody, but I was able to put it together and get some pretty good results.”
“I just wanted to go out there and show the world what I was capable of and put my name out there with some big performances. I was able to do that and had some good heights, especially during the indoor season.”
“When everything got shut down and things were pushed back to the end of the season, I was able to find some good form there as well which, for me, was more impressive than my indoor season because I’d had two months off.”
The youngster managed to break the record for the highest pole vault twice in two successive weekends in February, and had great performances post lockdown as well.
FEMALE WORLD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR! ✨
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) December 5, 2020
Yulimar Rojas is crowned Female Athlete of the Year at the 2020 #WorldAthleticsAwards
Felicidades @TeamRojas45 🙌 pic.twitter.com/9K2VsHy1dp
A world record breaker in her own field, Yulimar Rojas managed to beat the world record for the longest triple jump with a leap measuring 15.43m.
“I honestly didn’t expect this, I really cannot believe it. It is such a joy and I’m filled with happiness. Just being one of the finalists felt like winning to me; being nominated among other exceptional athletes was already a wonderful achievement,” said Rojas.
“This victory means a lot to me and to all of those who work with me every day, everyone who gives me strength and motivation every day. And now, being the best athlete of the year is an additional inspiration for me for 2021. It is going to be a great year and I have a lot of ambition. This gives me a lot of strength to keep on track with my career.”
