The 30-year-old, who won an RS:X bronze at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, also secured her first ever World Championship medal in the discipline - a silver - in Búzios, Brazil, in March.

The performance boost makes up for a tough 2012 season, during which she was struck down with an illness that put paid to her London Olympic medal hopes, but her recent consistency shows she is now back on track.

"It's a complete surprise as I thought Nick [Dempsey] would win this award, but it's fantastic," Shaw said as she received the British Olympic Association (BOA) award from Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Olympic manager Stephen Park during a team presentation at Hayling Island Sailing Club.

"Twenty twelve was obviously a really difficult year for me, but I'm really grateful to my coach Dom [Tidey], the sports science guys, Izzy [Hamilton] and my little training group.

"We've got a good team there all pushing each other on and it's really paying off with results on the water."

Tidey was also recognised for his hard work and was presented with the British Sailing Team's "Golden Funnel" award for coaching excellence, while Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell were handed the RYA Paralympic Classes Athlete of the Year trophy for the second consecutive year after topping the podium at the SKUD World and European Championships.

Finn sailor Peter McCoy and Laser sailor Alex Mills Barton, meanwhile, were voted as the joint winners of the Podium Potential Sailor of the Year Award.

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