Gold medalist Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana greets the audience during the awarding ceremony for women's 10,000m final of Athletics at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug. 12, 2016. Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana claimed the gold and set a new world record with a time of 29:17.45. (Xinhua/Wang Lili)
9 Almaz Ayana (Ethiopia)
25, long-distance runner. Ayana smashed the 23-year-old 10,000 meter world record held by Chinese runner Wang Junxia by nearly 14 seconds, winning gold at the Rio Olympics with a time of 29 minutes 17.45 seconds. She was named the female World Athlete of the Year at the IAAF Athletics Awards 2016.
