…Usain Bolt is Jamaica’s Sportsman of the Year
KINGSTON, Jamaica, (CMC) – Usain Bolt predictably won Jamaica’s 2008 Sportsman of the Year crown but the women’s honour is being shared as Veronica Campbell-Brown and Melaine Walker were jointly given the Sportswoman of the Year this past weekend.

The Olympic champions dominated the glitzy ceremony at the prestigious RJR Sports Foundation Awards at the Courtleigh Auditorium Friday night and while the male award was straightforward, the women’s battle was not.

“It was just too close to call,” said Chris Dehring, the RJR Sports Foundation Chairman.

Dehring said the two Olympic champions boasted very similar records in a tremendous season and after very lengthy deliberations the consensus was a tie.

In Beijing, Walker won gold in the 400-metre hurdles in an Olympic record time of 52.64 seconds while Campbell-Brown repeated as 200-metre champion in a personal best time of 21.74 seconds.

Campbell-Brown’s victory in Beijing made her only the second woman in history to win back-to-back Olympic 200-metre titles after Germany’s Barbel Eckert-Wockel who won in 1976 and 1980.

Apart from an early pre-season second place finish in Australia, Walker raced undefeated in 2008 and completely dominated her event during the year.

It was the second time in the history of the awards that the honour was being shared.

In 2008, the Olympic silver medallists Deon Hemmings and Loraine Graham were joint winners of the Sportswoman of the Year title.

Walker and Campbell-Brown won ahead of other Olympic medallists Shelly-Ann Fraser, the 100-metre champion in Beijing, Shericka Williams, Sherone Simpson, and Kerron Stewart, and teenaged cricket star Stafanie Taylor.

“Beijing was great for all of us and I appreciate this award because we are all winners,” said Campbell-Brown, who also Sportswoman of the Year in 2004 and 2007.

Meanwhile, Fraser was given the People’s Choice Performance Award for her sensational 100-metre victory at the Beijing Olympics.

Fraser clocked 10.78 seconds to become the Caribbean’s first ever Olympic women’s 100-metre champion. She took the inaugural “People’s Choice” award over West Indies cricketer Jerome Taylor and footballer Ricardo Fuller.

Bolt, who featured in three world record performances to emerge as Beijing’s biggest star, copped the men’s award after dazzling gold medal sprints in the 100 metres (9.69 seconds) and the 200 (19.30).

He also linked up with Asafa Powell, Nesta Carter and Michael Frater to win the 4X100 relay in a world record 37.10 seconds.

Bolt won the Sportsman of the Year award ahead of Taylor, the rising West Indies fast bowler, who picked up the runner-up prize.

Taylor took 24 wickets in six Test matches at an average of 29.79 and scored a fine hundred against New Zealand last December, smashing 106 off 107 balls with 17 fours and three sixes in Dunedin.

Powell, the former world 100-metre record holder, West Indies cricket captain Chris Gayle, and footballer Luton Shelton were the other leading candidates for the Sportswoman of the Year awards.