World Athlete of the Year Usain Bolt of Jamaica.

World Athlete of the Year Sanya Richards of the USA.

Double Olympic and world champion Usain Bolt of Jamaica and 400m world champion Sanya Richards of the USA were crowned as the World Athletes of the Year 2009 at the World Athletics Gala in Monte Carlo on Sunday.

Bolt, who captivated the attention of the sporting world with his world 100m and 200m gold medals with new world records, earned the honour for the second consecutive year.

Richards dominated the women's 400m, producing seven of the year's 10 fastest performances, and finally won her first world title. Richards was previously named World Athlete of the Year in 2006.

Four European athletes were shortlisted as finalists for the 2009 World Athlete of the Year Awards.

The impressive line-up of finalists included the winners of the 2008 European Athlete of the Year Awards, Javelin world champion Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway and Pole Vault world record holder Yelene Isinbayeva of Russia. High Jump world champion Blanka Vlašic of Croatia and Hammer world champion and world record holder Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland were also shortlisted for the coveted awards.