Usain Bolt, Aries Merritt and David Rudisha have been shortlisted for the World Athlete of the Year award.
Track and field’s governing body said on Monday that the trio gathered the most votes following a three-week poll. The winner will be announced during a ceremony as part of the IAAF’s centenary celebrations in Barcelona on Nov 24.
Bolt became the first man to retain both 100- and 200-meter titles earlier this year at the London Olympics. The Jamaican holds the world record in both distances.
Merritt won the 110 hurdles at the Olympics. The American set a world record of 12.80 seconds at the Van Damme Memorial in Brussels in September.
Rudisha of Kenya won the 800 at the games in a world record of 1 minute, 40.91 seconds.