Brittain, who is currently studying marketing management at the University of Pretoria, has been part of the South African national team from junior level and became the under-23 world champion in the men’s pair in 2011.

The 25-year-old has now come back to the sport after a battle with cancer and has been listed as a finalist by World Rowing and Parmigiani Fleurier after continuing to help his rowing club, as well as inspiring many fellow athletes with his positive attitude during his illness.

He is joined on the shortlist by fellow South African Tristan Wentworth, who has been heavily involved in coaching novice rowers and has held administrative positions at the Rhodes University Rowing Club, of which he has been a member for the past five years.

Wentworth, who represented his nation at the 2015 Summer Universiade in Gwangju, South Korea, has had his contribution to helping the club grow in numbers recognised by his nomination for the award.

Poland’s Maciej Sciesiek has also been nominated after helping the development of the Warsaw University Boat Club from six members to 30, with the physics PhD student also having played a key role in creating the club’s first women’s eight team.

Also on the shortlist is Hong Kong’s Tsz Wai Chan, who has provided coaching to disabled children as well as having represented her nation at the World Rowing Junior Championships and the Asian Games, while Serbia’s Tijana Stefanovic has been put forward after organising several rowing events at the University of Belgrade.

The United States’ Kirsten Van Fossen is the final rower under consideration for the award with her volunteering work one of the key reasons for her inclusion on the shortlist.

Von Fossen is currently based in Britain, where she is studying engineering at the University of Cambridge, and is a member of their Women's Boat Club on the lightweight team having previously competed for the US junior team.

International Rowing Federation (FISA) President Jean-Christophe Rolland believes it will prove a difficult task to pick a winner of the third edition of the award, with all the candidates having inspired success in the lives of other people, as well as their own.

"We have again received numerous applications from around the world," he said.

"The quality of the applications remains truly impressive and I know it will be difficult to pick the award winner from these six worthy finalists."

Rolland is set to be one of four judges who will decide the winner, with the FISA President set to be joined by New Zealand’s Mahe Drysdale, who won Olympic single sculls gold at London 2012, as well as German world champion Lenka Wech and Parmigiani Fleurier’s chief executive Jean-Marc Jacot.

The six candidates will be hoping to succeed Germany’s Franz Gravenhorst as the winner of the award, with the victor set to receive a hand-crafted Parmigiani Fleurier watch while their rowing club will be presented with a custom-made new Filippi racing eight boat.