Usain Bolt crown AIPS best Male Athlete of 2017

By Esther Egbe

After ten years, ‘The King’ Roger Federer was voted the AIPS Best Male Athlete of 2017 for a fourth time – edging closer to Usain Bolt, who is the record holder with six ‘AIPS Ahtletes of the Year’ recognitions National Daily gathered.

The award for Best Female Athlete went to US tennis star Serena Williams: this is the result of the most international poll yet by the International Sports Press Association (AIPS), where a panel of 517 journalists from 112 countries voted for the Champions of 2017 National Daily learnt.

Federer is again the AIPS Champion of the Year with 928 votes, just 140 votes ahead of FIFA Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, while Argentina and F.C. Barcelona’s Lionel Messi is in third place with 530 votes National Daily gathered.

The race for the AIPS Best Female Athlete of 2017 was also one of the closest yet, with just over 20 votes separating first place Serena Williams (651) from three-time Olympic champion swimmer Katinka Hosszú from Hungary, in second place with 631 votes. Third place went to the US track and field sprinter Allyson Felix, 2017 world bronze medalist at 400 meters.