Elaine Thompson-Herah won three Olympic gold medals but was overlooked by ANOC for the best female athlete of the year at Tokyo 2020 ©Getty Images

A decision by the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) to award Canada’s Maggie MacNeil best female athlete of Tokyo 2020 has been criticised by the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC).

NACAC general secretary Keith Vincent claimed they were "shocked" that the swimmer was chosen instead of Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah.

Thompson-Herah won three Olympic gold medals at Tokyo 2020 in the 100 metres, 200m and 4x100m relay.

It followed her performance at Rio 2016 where she had won gold medals in the 100m and 200m, and silver in the 4x100m relay.

MacNeil won three medals at Tokyo 2020, including a memorable victory in the women’s 100m butterfly event where she came from seventh place at the halfway mark to eventually clinch gold.

The 21-year-old also won a silver medal in the 4x100m freestyle and bronze in the 4x100m medley.

Canadian swimmer Maggie MacNeil was voted the best female athlete of Tokyo 2020 after winning three medals - a gold, silver and bronze - at Tokyo 2020 ©YouTube
Canadian swimmer Maggie MacNeil was voted the best female athlete of Tokyo 2020 after winning three medals - a gold, silver and bronze - at Tokyo 2020 ©YouTube

"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," Joseph, also general secretary of the Saint Vincent and The Grenadines Olympic Committee, said.

Thompson-Herah also ran 10.54sec for 100m during the season, the second fastest time in history behind American Florence Griffith Joyner’s 33-year-old world record of 10.49.

At Tokyo 2020, when winning the 200m, Thompson-Herah's time of 21.53 was also the second fastest in history behind the world record 21.34 run by Griffith Joyner, also set in 1988.

Earlier this week, NACAC announced that Thompson-Herah had been voted its Female Athlete of the Year.

The United States’ Ryan Crouser, winner of the shot put at Tokyo 2020, was voted the Male Athlete of the Year.

Thompson-Herah is expected to be among the favourites for the World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year Award due to be announced in Monte Carlo on December 1.