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The 2021 Athletics Calendar may have ended, but it leaves behind a lot of bright sports. Indeed this year can be described as a great one solely on the on-field performances athletes brought to the scene.

Coming off a distorted year as a result of the Corona Virus pandemic, the Olympic games had to be rescheduled by a whole year which meant aspiring athletes would have to find ways to maintaining form despite a drop in activities over the previous calendar year. One did not really know what to expect from athletes heading into the year.

However, we were quickly taken by surprise months prior to the start of the Olympic games. We had more than a few World Records set in the course of the year, as well as a few close calls. We also had excitement in disciplines where many felt records were out of reach for the current crop of Athletes.

Athletes of the Year

To begin Analyzing this, I'll shift by focus to the Male and Female Athletes of the year, Hurdler Karsten Warholm and Jamaican Sprinter Elaine Thompson. Both were no doubt deserved winners of the award, but the depth of performances this year was so great that it could have been given to a few other names and no one would have objected.

For Warholm,the Norwegian hurdler has been knocking on the door of greatness for a While and it finally came through this season, Twice. The 400m Hurdles record was one of the oldest standing before he broke it in July and repeated this feat weeks later at the August Olympics.

Elaine Thompson was actually an underdog heading into the Olympics. She stayed in the shadow of her Jamaican Counterpart Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce during the qualifications and build up to the Olympic games. However, she looked utterly transformed at the games, claiming the sprint double and going to to genuinely threaten Flo-Jo Griffith's 100m World record by becoming the second fastest woman in history. Judging by the controversy that surrounds the World record, what Thompson achieved can as well be considered in the same limelight.

Performances Worth Highlighting

As I stated previously, there were more than a few noteworthy performances by top athletes this year. Women's Triple Jump Star Yulimar Rojas absolutely dominated the competition throughout the year and crowned her success by breaking the 26 year old women's Triple jump record at the Olympic games.

Another Athlete with a phenomenal year was shot put Champion Ryan Crouser. He broke both the indoor and outdoor shotput records this year (the latter being 31 years old).

Some other highlights worth remembering are Eluid Kipchoge's Marathon Triumph at the Olympics, cementing his immortality as the all time greatest (at least in my view). We also saw some stunning performances by Junior Athletes such as Christine Mboma that leaves a lot of hope for the future.

Conclusion

There could have been multiple Athletes of the year this year and no one would have complained. The year was that good. Perhaps by next year we would see this reflect more in terms of attention to the sport, or with the rise of a new set of superstars in the sport.