by Christina Pomoni

Created on: November 05, 2009

2009 was full of great accomplishments from athletes, who have demonstrated excellent skills and have achieved incomparable performances. Although it's not easy to single out the top athletes of the year, there are athletes, who really stood out for their courage, strength, stamina and passion for what they're doing.

Kim Clijsters

Tennis is by far one of the hardest and most challenging sports on the planet, but when Kim Clijsters takes over it seems like the simplest thing in the world. In 2009, Clijsters returned to tennis after two years and won the U.S. Open after achieving excellent performances.

In 2007, Clijsters had announced her decision to abandon competitive tennis to start a family. She got married to American basketball player Brian Lynch and in 2008 she gave birth to their wonderful daughter Jada Ellie. In 2009 she announced her decision to return to professional tennis spreading happiness in the hearts of the fans around the globe and anxiety in the hearts of her competitors in the tennis courts.

And they were right to be worried. Clijsters hasn't forgotten anything of her unparalleled technique that had made her number one in the world in 2003. Apparently, she has returned to stay and she has all the potential to become number one again and be on the top for a long time. U.S. Open was only the beginning. And time will prove what an excellent player and character she is combining her mental strength with athletic posture towards great achievements.

Usain Bolt

When Bolt run 100 meters in 9.69 seconds at Beijing Summer Olympics of 2008 everybody knew he could do better. And he did. The "Lightning Bolt" smashed the 100-meter record running 100 meters in 9.58 seconds at Berlin World Championship in August 2009. And he didn't stop there. He smashed his own record in 200 meters running 200 meters in 19.19 seconds. What makes Bolt's record even more impressive and sports fans more demanding is that 19.19 is 0.11 seconds faster than 19.30 that he did at Beijing Summer Olympics of 2008, but Bolt run into a headwind (-0.3m/s) in Berlin. So, this makes us all wonder: what is he capable of doing if he runs at (0.0 m/s) or with a favorable wind?

No matter if Bolt is here to stay or if he is a "Lightning Bolt" that will soon fade out, he has managed to differentiate himself from any other track runner in the history of track and field with his unique, hard running style, excellent speed and tough demeanor.

Kobe Bryant

The shooting guard of Los Angeles Lakers

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