CHASING ACCOLADE: Double Olympic shot put champion Valerie Adams is up against Great Britain's Jessica Ennis and the USA's Allison Felix for the IAAF's woman athlete of the year award.

New Zealand's double Olympic shot put champion Valerie Adams has been named as one of the three finalists for the international athletics federation's (IAAF) Woman Athlete of the Year.

Adams, who is also a three-time world champion, will be up against British heptathlon star and one of the darlings of the London Olympics, Jess Ennis, and United States sprinter Allyson Felix.

Following a three-week poll, where votes were cast from a panel of 2400 people that included officials, athletes and journalists, those three London Olympic gold medallists received the most votes, with each member of the panel able to nominate just one athlete.

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, American hurdler Aries Merritt and Kenyan 800m runner David Rudisha are the three men's finalists.

The winners will be announced during an awards ceremony as part of the IAAF Centenary Celebrations, which will take place in Barcelona on November 24.