Brussels: In a clash of Olympic stars, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt edged US swimmer Michael Phelps to be voted the 2008 athlete of the year by the international media.
In a poll by the International Sports Press Association, journalists from 96 nations gave Bolt a narrow edge of 1673 points to 1557 over Phelps.
Bolt won a three gold medals, setting world records in the 100 meters, 200 and 400 relay to become the star of Beijing's Bird's Nest Stadium.
In the Water Cube, Phelps was the outstanding star with a history-making eight golds in the pool for the United States.
In the wake of his thrilling victory over Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final, Spain's Rafael Nadal came third with 444 points.
Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva took the top place as sportswoman of the year and the only honor to buck the Olympic trend went to Spain's football squad, which was voted team of the year after winning the European Championship.
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