T&FN's Women's Athlete Of The Year: Meseret Defar

Undefeated distance star Meseret Defar of Ethiopia also was unbeaten in the 2007 Women’s Athlete of the Year voting, as selected by the 34-member Track & Field News panel.

The 23-year-old Defar earned 24 votes for No. 1. The other top selections went to vault star Yelena Isinbayeva (5), high jumper Blanka Vlasic (3) and sprinter Allyson Felix (2).

Overall, 16 women received votes. The Top 10:

1. Meseret Defar (Ethiopia—distances) 319

2. Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia—pole vault) 284

3. Blanka Vlašic (Croatia—high jump) 274

4. Allyson Felix (US—sprints) 227

5. Carolina Klüft (Sweden—heptathlon) 205

6. Tirunesh Dibaba (Ethiopia—distances) 84

7. Tatyana Lebedeva (Russia—long/triple jumps) 79

8. Sanya Richards (US—400m) 75

9. Veronica Campbell (Jamaica—sprints) 67

10. Janeth Jepkosgei (Kenya—800m) 66