The North American, Central American, and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) has expressed shock that the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) chose Canadian swimmer Maggie MacNeil as the ‘Best Female Athlete of Tokyo 2020’ ahead of Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah.

McNeil won a gold medal in the 100m butterfly, a silver medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay and a bronze medal in the 4x100m medley relay.

By comparison, Thompson-Herah won three gold medals – the 100m dash in an Olympic record of 10.61 seconds, the 200m in a national record of 21.53s and the 4x100m relay in 41.02s, a national record and the third-fastest time in history.

In doing so, the 29-year-old Jamaican, the NACAC Female Athlete of the Year, became the only woman to win 100 and 200m titles at consecutive Olympic Games.

Thompson-Herah won the sprint double at Rio 2016, the first woman to accomplish that feat since Florence Griffith-Joyner in Seoul in 1988.

Given the vast difference in accomplishments, NACAC Secretary Keith Vincent said his association was shocked that the Canadian swimmer was given the nod over the Jamaican sprinter.

“NACAC has expressed its disappointment with the results of the Award from the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) for Best Female Athlete at the Tokyo Olympics held earlier this year,” said Vincent.

“For the several NACAC member countries in attendance at the Awards Ceremony held on the evening of Sunday, 24 October, in the city of Heraklion on the island of Crete, Greece, it came as a shock that Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson was not the eventual winner,” he added.

Thompson-Herah is among the favourites for the World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year award.