RESPECTIVE reigning Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Fedrick Dacres and Alia Atkinson are down to face tough competition by way of Tajay Gayle and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce for the top honours at the 59th RJRGleaner National Awards gala to be hosted next January.

While both Dacres and Atkinson had a superb 2019 in their respective disciplines, the balance seems tilted in favour of Gayle and Fraser-Pryce, who capped their year with impressive gold-medal performances at the IAAF World Athletic Championships in Doha, Qatar.

Gayle achieved a breathtaking 8.69 metres to upset the applecart in the men’s long jump final, to become Jamaica’s first gold medallist, male or female, in an outdoor global long jump event.

The 23-year-old’s leap not only ranked him as the 10th-longest jumper of all time, but was also recognised as the best jump at a World Championships final in 24 years. It was the longest jump in world athletics in 10 years.

That performance was the icing on the cake for Gayle, who won several long jump meets prior and took silver at the Pan American Games in Peru with a then National Record mark of 8.32m.

Those were complemented by runner- up finishes on the Diamond League circuit. Along with Gayle and Dacres, squash player Christopher Binnie, discus thrower Travis Smikle and Jamaica’s diving flagbearer Yona Knight- Wisdom, have also been shortlisted.

The alluring and vivacious Fraser-Pryce, who was named Sportswoman in 2012, 2013 and 2015, is poised for her fourth hold on the accolade, after returning to reclaim her throne as the sprint queen, two years after giving birth to her son.

At 32 years old, Fraser-Pryce became the oldest woman to win an 100m World or Olympic title, clocking a world-leading 10.71 seconds to top the women’s 100-metre field in Doha.

The victory marked her fourth 100m world title and eighth world title overall, as she also led the sprint relay team to gold in 41.44 seconds.

Before that crowning moment, Fraser-Pryce won bronze with the 4x200m relay team in Japan, and later finished second to Elaine Thompson-Herah in the 100m in a virtual dead heat in a then world-leading 10.73 at the National Championships.

That was one of only three losses for her over the distance this year.

The “Pocket Rocket”, also known as “Mommy Rocket” also claimed silver at the Diamond League finals and gold in the 200m at the Pan American Games. Fraser-Pryce and Atkinson are joined by seven contenders, who have also excelled this year.

They are Thompson- Herah, 400m hurdler Rushell Clayton, 800m runner Natoya Goule, quarter-miler Shericka Jackson, triple jumper Shanieka Ricketts, shot put thrower Danniel Thomas-Dodd and sprint hurdler Danielle Williams.

RJR Gleaner Sports Foundation, responsible for organising the award, annually honours outstanding achievements in sport by Jamaican athletes, by nominating a maximum of 10 individuals of each gender for consideration.

The criteria under which athletes were selected for sportsman and sportswoman of the year starts with performances on the world level, then continental, regional and domestic (national level).

Michael Fennell, the chairman of the selection committee, acknowledged the difficulty they had in the selection process this year, given the number of major events and outstanding performances, particularly in track and field.

“It is quite challenging in that we have to ensure that there is equity that people have met the standards and as you know, playing one off against the other.

Because when you are celebrating athletes you want to make sure that you are absolutely fair,” Fennell told journalists during the launch at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel yesterday.

“When you look at the criteria, you have the different levels, coming down, its biased towards track and field because that is the sport that we have had world-level performances for a long time and continue to have them,” he added, while noting that the list remains open until December 31st, should there be any other performances worthy of consideration.

Meanwhile, Fraser-Pryce’s Doha 100m win and Gayle’s long jump triumph are also among the five nominees for the People’s Choice Performance of the year award.

The others are Goule’s determined win in the 800m at the Pan American Games, Reggae Boyz Shamar Nicholson’s scintillating game-winning goal against the United States, and Havana Solaun’s historic goal for the Reggae Girlz at the Fifa Women’s World Cup.

Gary Allen, the chairman of the RJR Gleaner Sports Foundation, outlined some adjustments to be made in an effort to complete the live awards show in a two-hour time frame.

“We have had such a growth in the number of awards that we present. Last year we had nine special awards, in addition to all of the other things, and I think trying to get to through 130-odd awards on a night is too much.

“So, we have decided that we are going to remove some of the awards, so some special awards, some team awards, the certificates of merit and the school awards are not going to be done in the live show,” Allen shared.

Allen explained that despite those awards being presented before the show, the awardees will be acknowledged during the event and will later have their televised moment the following week on Smile Jamaica.

The awards show is scheduled to be held on Friday, January 17, 2020 at The Jamaica Pegasus. Some other notable categories include respective outstanding schoolboy and schoolgirl awards and the chairman’s award, among others