Gatlin, Felix capture Jesse Owens awards
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-11-29 10:08

World 200-meter champions Justin Gatlin and Allyson Felix were named winners of the 2005 Jesse Owens Award by USA Track and Field in Indianapolis on Monday.

World 200-meter champions Gatlin (R)and Felix were named winners of the 2005 Jesse Owens Award by USA Track and Field. [AFP]

Gatlin, who swept both 100m and 200m in the World Outdoor Athletics Championships in Helsinki, captured the award for the second year in a row.

"To win this award again is simply amazing," said Gatlin who won the 100m in 9.88 seconds, winning by .17 of a second in the largest margin in World Championships history.

Gatlin thus matched Maurice Greene from 1999 as the only men tocomplete a 100-200 world sprint title sweep.

Felix, 19, won every race she entered and claimed her first world title in the 200m in 22.16 seconds, beating a field that included Olympic champion Veronica Campbell.

"I'm humbled to be chosen for this recognition," Felix said.

Felix, the only teen to claim a world sprint crown, also won the US outdoor title in a world-leading 22.13 seconds. She had the three fastest times in the world this year at 200m and five of thetop seven.