MONTE CARLO, Monaco – Jamaica’s Usain Bolt and Jamaican-born American Sanya Richards have been named the 2009 Male and Female Athlete of the Year by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

The pair was crowned in front of family, friends, journalists, and members of the athletics family at the World Athletics Gala at the Salles des Etoiles, here, last night.

There weren’t too many surprised expressions as most had already been expecting Bolt to cap a fabulous year in which he won gold medals in the 100m and 200m, both in world record times, at the World Championships in Berlin in August.

Bolt was claiming the award for the second successive year. His rivals for the award were Ethiopian 5,000m/10,000m world champion Kenenisa Bekele; WC 100m silver medallist Tyson Gay of the USA; Australian pole vault world champion Steve Hooker, and javelin world champ Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway.

Richards was also winning for the second time. She first won athletics’ top prize in 2006. This year she outdid competition from shot put world champion Valerie Vili of New Zealand; Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva; World Championship hammer throw gold medallist Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland, and the person seen to have posed the biggest threat to Richards claiming the crown, Croatian high jump two-time world champion, Blanka Vlasic.

Richards overcame the final hurdle in 2009, capturing her first major senior world title in the 400m in Berlin.

This she did in addition to anchoring the US 4x400m team to gold and winning 10 of her eleven individual races this season.

Richards was bubbling as she acknowledged that the battle must have been a tight one between herself and Vlasic, who was also a mark above the competition this year: “I’m just so, so excited.so overwhelmed. It’s an honour and a privilege for me.it must have been a tough decision,” she said.

Bolt was more subdued as he expressed gratitude for a year in which he walked away from a car crash with only a few bruises. “It’s been an amazing year for me, especially after my accident. I’m proud of myself,” he said.

Both athletes promised to celebrate the evening by dancing before catching early flights back home today.

“This is definitely the place to dance and celebrate… I’m going to be dancing all night,” an exuberant Richards told reporters.

Bolt concurred: “As long as there is a party I will try to enjoy myself.”

Sharon and Archie Richards, parents of Sanya, were both pleased that their older daughter had finally claimed the award in a year when she also won her first major title.

“We are very proud; it’s been a long journey. We go through all her disappointments with her so now she has actually achieved her goals we are so happy,” Archie Richards said.

“Her dad predicted 14 years or more ago that this day would come. we are definitely her number one support system,” her mother agreed.

Richards’ coach, Clyde Hart, was named Coach of the Year.

The finalists for both major awards were selected following a three-week poll with members of the IAAF’s Athletics Family worldwide with votes from 1,799 recipients including council members, federations, committee and commission members as well as the international press.