Amy Mbacké Thiam, 30, the 2001 World champion at 400m has been elected better Senegalese Sportsperson of the Year 2006 by the Senegalese sports press.
A member of the legendary Racing Club of France in Paris, France, Thiam took the African championship title (52.22) on 11 August in Bambous, Mauritius, and raced for Africa at the World Cup in Athletics, Athens on 16 September, where she finished sixth (51.39). She also finished sixth (51.16) at the World Athletics Final the weekend before in Stuttgart, Germany (10 Sep).
Her year’s best marks were a national indoor record of 52.48 seconds which she ran in Stockholm (2 Feb), while outdoors she ran to 50.52 at the Paris Golden League meeting (8 July).
It is the second time that Thiam has won the national award, having carried it off in 2001 after becoming World champion in Edmonton, Canada.
Oumar Ba (Le Soleil) for the IAAF