THE WINNERS of the 2013 Sunday Times and Sky Sports Sportswomen of the Year Awards have been announced at a star-studded ceremony in London – the event was broadcast live on Sky Sports 1 HD between 8pm and 10pm on Thursday December 5.

The Awards celebrate the outstanding contribution to sport made by elite performers, coaches, administrators, community volunteers and inspirational female figures – and 2013 is the most spectacular in the event’s 26-year history.

Hosted by Sky Sports presenter Hayley McQueen, the nominees of the seven awards were joined at the Sky studios in south-west London by Victoria Pendleton, Nicola Adams, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Katherine Grainger, Rachel Yankey, Chrissie Wellington and world championship-winning rower Helen Glover (who all presented awards to the winners).

Other VIP guests on the night included: Sharron Davies, Charlotte Edwards, Mark Foster, Helen Grant MP (the Minister for Sport), Alison Nicholas and Virginia Wade.

THE 2013 SUNDAY TIMES & SKY SPORTS

SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR

Christine Ohuruogu

Christine Ohuruogu was named the Sunday Times and Sky Sports Sportswoman of the Year winner.

Ohuruogu said: “This was such a tough category. It’s great that we have women out there who are excelling and doing so much better than people think. I am genuinely shocked and really happy to receive this.

“Previous winners of the main award – the likes of Denise Lewis and Paula Radcliffe - are all amazing talents and woman that I look up to. It’s great to have my face alongside theirs.

“When I crossed that line in Moscow – and it might not look like this to people watching on TV –I knew I was in contention, I knew I had enough time. It was getting close but I did everything I could.

I already have an Olympic gold medal and now two world championships gold medals – but the national record, which has stood for nearly 30 years, was my goal this season.”

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Christine Ohuruogu won 400m gold at the IAAF athletics world championships in Moscow in August. The 29-year-old produced a signature, perfectly-timed late surge to beat defending champion and pre-race favourite Amantle Montsho of Botswana in a photo finish. Ohuruogu, who claimed the title by an astonishing four thousandths of a second, ran a time of 49.41secs – 0.02secs quicker than Kathy Cook’s 29-year-old British record, which had been set during the Los Angeles Olympics.

As a result, Ohuruogu is one of only four British athletes to become a double world champion: the other three on this prestigious list are Mo Farah (in the 5,000m), Jonathan Edwards (triple jump) and Colin Jackson (110m hurdles).

Ohuruogu certainly has an exceptional CV: she was Olympic champion in 2008; a silver medallist at the London 2012 Games; she has five medals from the world championships (gold in 2007 and 2013 as well as three relay bronzes); and she became Commonwealth champion in Melbourne in 2006.

YOUNG SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR

(21 years or younger)

Becky James

Becky James won four medals in five days at the UCI track cycling world championships in the Belarusian city of Minsk in February. The Welsh cyclist, who turned 22 only six days ago, won the women’s sprint and Keirin events – and also clinched bronze medals in the team sprint (alongside Victoria Williamson) and the 500m time trial. Significantly, James is the first British cyclist to claim four medals at a single world championship.

Unfortunately, due to her cycling commitments, Becky was unable to attend the 2013 Awards ceremony. She is competing this weekend at an UCI track cycling world cup event in Aguascalientes in Mexico.

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James, speaking in a pre-recorded video presentation, said: “I’m so gutted I can’t be there in person. I’m actually in Mexico for a World Cup event. It’s incredible to win this award. I am so happy. This is a great end to an incredible year.

“There are so many people that I would like to thank – but the main one is my coach. I wouldn’t be able to do anything without him. He has been fantastic. My family and British Cycling have been absolutely incredible, too. I would never imagine that after such a bad 2012 that I would finish 2013 with an award like this. I couldn’t ask for much more. Thank you so much.”

Shane Sutton, Team Sky performance advisor, said: “This year we saw the emergence of Becky James. To win two senior titles – I mean that’s as high as it gets. It’s a phenomenal achievement. She has a big future ahead of her – and I think she can surpass anything that we have seen to date.”

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The award was presented on stage by the Olympic gold medal-winning boxer Nicola Adams.

TEAM OF THE YEAR

England netball team

The Team of the Year award was decided by Sunday Times readers and Sky Sports viewers via a 16-day online vote. Upon receiving the award, England netball captain Pamela Cookey said: “It’s so special to win a public award in this manner. It’s really good that we have been recognised in such a way.”

Head coach Anna Mayes said: “There was a collective belief this year that we could really perform on the world stage.”

Defender Eboni Beckford-Chambers said: “When we step out on to that court, we always try our best and to get that win. But to have the season that we have had, with only one Test defeat, is unbelievable. It’s such an honour to be here and to receive this award. We are so thankful to the public for voting for us.”

Wing-attack Sasha Corbin said: “It was amazing to beat Australia in January – that Test match at Wembley was the pinnacle for us. We hadn’t beaten the Aussies for 30 years in a Test series – so to beat them in our own backyard was pretty good.”

Defender Jo Harten said: “Something special is really going to happen with this England team. I know we have had an exceptional year – but to win this award, well we are simply ecstatic.”

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England lost just one Test match in 2013. Their most emphatic result was a 3-0 series win over Australia, the world’s No.1 ranked side, back in January. The netball squad, coached by Anna Mayes, also claimed series victories over Jamaica and South Africa.

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The England netball team received their award from world championship-winning rower Helen Glover.

 

DISABILITY SPORTS PERSON OF THE YEAR

Amy Marren

Amy Marren, the winner of the Disability Sports Person of the Year, said: “Going to the world championships in Montreal was a fantastic experience. My expectations were to go there and just enjoy it, to learn as much as I could. So, to win so many medals was amazing. My plan is to keep winning medals and putting in good swims.

“This award is such a shock. Looking up there at the screen, you can see that it’s such a tough category. I am a bit shocked. I owe my parents, my coaches and my school so much gratitude. My school is fantastic and my coach, well, he simply puts up with me I suppose.”

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Marren, a 15-year-old schoolgirl from Hornchurch in Essex, established herself as one of this country’s rising sports stars by winning six medals at the IPC world swimming championship in Montreal in August.

Individual victories came in the SM9 200m individual medley and the S9 100m butterfly. Marren was also part of two gold medal-winning relay quartets: the 4x100m freestyle and the 4x100m individual medley (during which the British squad set a world record mark of four minutes 46.21 seconds). Marren’s two silver medals came in the S9 100m backstroke and freestyle races.

 

COMMUNITY AWARD

Rimla Akhtar

Rimla Akhtar is chair of the Muslim Women’s Sport Foundation (MWSF), a charitable organisation based in Harrow in Middlesex.

Akhtar said: “For me, it’s more important that the Foundation is recognised. As far as I am concerned, I’m just serving the women and girls across the country. They put so much effort into the Foundation and I have such a strong team behind me. This award is very much theirs as it is mine.

“Me, personally, I don’t get involved with a lot of the delivery work – we have five clubs across the UK who work with thousands of women from all backgrounds. My work is helping to educate the sports authorities, the governing bodies and the governance, to ensure that they know the need of this community.

“I hope that we can continue this work and make sport accessible for all. Regardless of people’s backgrounds, we need to support them; there are so many inactive women out there – and if we can get them active, then we can get anyone active. Sport runs in my blood. I represented Britain at futsal, I know what can be realised through sport – and I just want to give more back.”

She added: “Women from certain backgrounds feel comfortable playing in all-female environments – we have to create those opportunities that are sensitive to their cultural and religious needs. Loads of women have come through our clubs – we have worked with thousands of women across the UK; the need and demand is there. I grew up in an area where there is only one place that nobody cared about the colour of my skin or the fact I wore a piece of cloth around my head – and that was on a football pitch. I grew up where sport was a place where I felt as an equal. If I and the foundation can help other women feel that way, feel confident about themselves, which they can take in to the wider world, then that’s my job done.”

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Akhtar was shortlisted for her voluntary work in the sporting world and her tireless efforts trying to improve accessibility to sports for women from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities.

Most notably, Akhtar has overseen the delivery of the ‘Born to Succeed’ project – an initiative that aims to increase the number of women from BME communities who participate in sport. The MWSF has established a number of new basketball and futsal teams, while also training scores of female referees, coaches and volunteers. It has also undertaken numerous school projects to encourage young girls to have a positive experience of sport.

Akhtar’s work focuses entirely on communities who are often overlooked; those who struggle to access the many sporting opportunities on offer. Her determination and dedication over the past four years have enabled the MWSF to reach and inspire thousands of people, young and old, and from various religious denominations, ethnicities and backgrounds.

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Akhtar received her award from Rachel Yankey, the most capped England footballer, having played 129 times for her country.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Professor Sarah Springman

Sarah Springman’s involvement with triathlon started 30 years ago when she took part in the first acknowledged British Triathlon event in Reading. Between 1983 and 1993, Springman was one of Britain’s leading triathletes, most notably competing in the demonstration event held at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand. In all, she amassed 21 elite ETU European championship medals in both triathlon (all distances) and duathlon.

Springman said: “I am absolutely delighted. My biggest achievement in the administration of triathlon? That’s quite a difficult one to answer. The wonderful success of the last Olympics would be one – as well as winning the ‘governing body of the year’ title. That showed that you can grow a governing body from a small germ to something where you can perform at the highest level.

“I remember the London Olympic Games – listening to the crowd made my spine tingle, just like it’s tingling now. The future of the sport is only onwards and upwards. We want more medals. We have the mixed relay in the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the Para-triathlon at the 2016 Rio Games.”

Chrissie Wellington, the four-time Ironman world triathlete, presented the award to Springman. She said: “This woman has left an enduring legacy – not only in my sport of triathlon but in the world of sport, too. She was a phenomenal athlete in her own right. She is the president of our national federation and the vice-president of our international federation. She is changing the face of sport generally.”

 Upon retirement from competition, Springman undertook a number of administrational roles – becoming one of Britain’s most senior representatives in international sport. First of all, she became a board member of the British Triathlon Association between 1984 and 1985 (a position she would later return to in 2005).

Springman co-chaired the International Triathlon Union (ITU) Women’s Commission between 1990 and 1992. Between 1992 and 1996, she served as vice president of the ITU – during which period she lobbied successfully for the inclusion of triathlon on the Olympic and Commonwealth Games roster (the sport’s Olympic debut came at the Sydney 2000 Games).

Triathlon is a sport which has enjoyed tremendous success in Britain in recent years: in the summer of 2012, the Brownlee brothers, Alistair and Jonathan, won Olympic triathlon gold and bronze respectively on a Hyde Park course. And, just two months ago, Non Stanford became ITU world champion. Springman’s perseverance and persistence behind-the-scenes helped to lay the foundation for those British triumphs.

In 2008, Springman was elected as one of four ITU vice presidents. After this election, she was responsible for leading two important winning bids: the inclusion of Para-triathlon at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games and the placement of the triathlon mixed relay event on the programme for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

She currently serves the British Triathlon Federation Board as an advisor on international relations with the ITU and ETU (the European Triathlon Union).

In 1997, Springman was awarded the OBE for services to sport. She received the CBE in the 2012 New Year’s Honours List.

What Springman has achieved for the sport of triathlon is hugely impressive when you consider that since January 1997 she has been a full Professor of Geotechnical Engineering at the Institute for Geotechnical Engineering at the ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to somebody who had devoted a lifetime to sport. Springman turns 57 on Boxing Day.

HELEN ROLLASON AWARD FOR INSPIRATION

Sarah Winckless

During her distinguished rowing career, Sarah Winckless won two world championship gold medals in the women’s quad and an Olympic bronze with Elise Laverick in the double sculls in Athens 2004. She was one of the leaders of a dedicated and committed group of women rowers who broke down barriers and changed attitudes in the women’s squad, paving the way for the overwhelming success of the women’s crews in London 2012.

She retired from rowing in April 2009 and became the inaugural chairwoman of the British Olympic Association’s Athletes Commission, which for the first time has given Britain’s athletes a powerful and influential voice within the BOA.
But it is Winckless’s tireless work as a fund-raiser and campaigner for the Scottish Huntington’s Association and her own indomitable courage in living with the spectre of the hereditary disease that marks Winckless out as a worthy recipient of the Helen Rollason Award and an inspiration for the 6,000 people in the UK who suffer from Huntington’s Disease. Winckless’s mother, Valerie, who was diagnosed with Huntington’s in 1996, was in the audience at Sky Studios to see her daughter receive the award.
While a science student at Cambridge University, Winckless discovered that she had inherited the same gene, which is a 50-50 chance for the children of a parent with Huntington’s. She reacted to the news by throwing herself even more whole-heartedly into her rowing career and into living every minute of every day to the full. In 2010, along with her older brother, Charlie, she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise awareness of cuts in funding to specialist nurses in Scotland and, last year, raised £20,000 for the Scottish Huntington’s Association, of which she is patron, on the London-to-Paris cycle ride. She was also re-elected for a second term as chairwoman of the Athletes Commission. Now 40, Sarah lives at Hurley, near Maidenhead and works as a business consultant and coach.

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Winckless, who was joined in the Sky studios by her mother Valerie, stepfather and sister, said: “We had no idea in our family that Huntington’s existed and it wasn’t until I was 22-years-old that mum got diagnosed – and then finally I understood what was happening with her. That was really helpful.

“This award is a complete surprise. I have had so much support and inspiration from my family. Nobody wants to hear the news that I heard when I was 22 – and no-one wants to watch their parents get ill and not understand why. For me, to be able to find sport, and that levelling influence, is just incredible. It’s just amazing to have them here tonight.

“My mum is there in the audience. It’s amazing to have her here. She has had this disease throughout my sporting career. She came to the Sydney Olympics still able to walk, she managed to wave a flag. She was there in Athens. She couldn’t go to Beijing but I knew she was watching at home on television.”

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Winckless received her award from Katherine Grainger. The London 2012 Olympic winning-rower said: “I’m so privileged to give out this award to Sarah. Everybody here – all the nominees and winners – have been inspirational in their own way. For me, though, every now and then, you get somebody who transcends their sport, who does something bigger than all the awards and the accolades. What Sarah has done beyond her sport is not only inspiring but also massively humbling – a real message to all of us about what a true role model is.

“When she went to have that test herself, she was very proactive. She wanted to know. She has had to deal with the result of that test and its impact. The brilliant thing is that she has wanted to help other people in that situation. She does a huge amount of fundraising – but also, more importantly, she spends time with young people who have been diagnosed. She brings hopes and positivity to the cause.”

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Lord Sebastian Coe said: “Sarah is inspirational because she has had such an extraordinary rowing career – an Olympic bronze medallist, twice a world champion. She has been so committed to a medical cause, to a medical charity, that I know touches her family in a very profound way. I am absolutely delighted that she has been being recognised both competitively, for her administration work and for her charity work.”

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Alex Butler, sports editor for the Sunday Times, said: “Congratulations to all our winners. The 2013 shortlist was incredibly strong, with a wide range of team and individual endeavours celebrated at the awards ceremony. With Sky Sports involved as co-sponsor and broadcaster, the awards have moved to a new level.”

Barney Francis, managing director of Sky Sports, said: “I would like to congratulate all of tonight’s winners, who I’m sure will inspire more women and girls to get involved in sport. We’ve been committed to women’s sport for over 20 years, and this year showed some fantastic events including Solheim Cup golf, the women’s Ashes, Netball Superleague and England Women’s rugby union, not to mention the launch of Sportswomen on Sky Sports News. It’s only right that the ceremony has been broadcast live on Sky Sports for the first time ever.”

The Sportswomen of the Year Awards are also supported by the Sport and Recreation Alliance, UK Sport, Sport England and the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation.