The New Zealand shot putter has had another good year, successfully defending her world title in Daegu, Korea, with a personal best of 21.24m. It was her third consecutive world championship gold and she was undefeated in all competition in 2011.
Adams was initially on a 10-strong list of the world's top female athletes but that has now been narrowed down to three males and three females after three weeks of voting.
She is up against Kenyan long distance runner Vivian Cheruiyot (Kenya) and Australia's Sally Pearson, who won the 100m hurdles world title this year.
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt is a finalist for the men's award, where he will be up against fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake, who won the 100m world title after Bolt was disqualified for a false start, and Kenyan 800m runner David Rudisha.
The winners will be announced at a gala event in Monaco on November 12.
