Bolt, 23, superbly sustained his label in 2009 as the world’s premier sprinter with awesome world record times in the 100 and 200 metres at the IAAF World Championship in Germany four months ago.
“People around the globe, who follow major sporting events, most likely will consider our choice a no-brainer,” said the Brooklyn-based Everybody’s Magazine, the oldest Caribbean magazine in the US, whose publisher is Grenadian Herman Hall.
“No other athlete in 2009, or, for that matter the last decade, impacted the world as Usain Bolt,” it added.
“Perhaps, the closest is Tiger Woods, who had a remarkable year after major knee surgery in 2008.”
The magazine said Bolt’s record breaking times in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games when he ran the 100 metres in 9.69 seconds and the 200 in 19.30 seconds, are “still unbelievable”.
“And, by shattering his own world records at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin, Germany in August this year in times of 9.58 seconds and 19.19 seconds, respectively, for the 100 and 200, Usain Bolt proved that he is out of this world,” it said.
The magazine also said Bolt has done much off the tracks to further enhance his image as “an athlete with a conscience,” adding that “he is helping Jamaica, the rest of the Caribbean and the world in benevolent causes”.
It said Bolt may be the most popular person in the world after US President Barack Obama.
The magazine said it expects “continued achievements” from Bolt in 2010.
“We look forward to further successes from Usain Bolt, our Person of the Year,” it said.
