In front of an audience of more than 250 distinguished guests – which included Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe, Rugby World Cup-winner Lawrence Dallaglio and former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash – the 32-year-old from Suffolk was honoured as the leading sportswoman of this year following a four-week Times Online public vote.

Wellington has dominated the world of triathlon over the past two years, and has incredibly remained unbeaten in her seven competitions at the longer distance.

The former Government agency worker was crowned world champion in 2007 and 2008 but this year has been particularly special: she smashed the world record in July with a remarkable performance at the Quelle Challenge Roth in Germany, when she set a time of 8 hours 31min 59sec to break the mark of Yvonne Van Vlerken by 13min and 49ec.

Then last month she won Wellington claimed her third consecutive world title in Kona, Hawaii.

Her brilliance in combining the 2.4-mile swim, a 112km-bike ride and a marathon saw Wellington win this prestigious award today ahead of Jessica Ennis, Britain’s world heptathlon champion in Berlin this summer.

Ennis, 23, claimed the world title in the Olympic Stadium and her overall score after two days of competition was just 100 points short of the nine-year-old British record.

Cyclist Victoria Pendleton, who won a third successive world sprint title, the only British Olympic champion to experience success in Poland in March, was the third woman out of the six-strong shortlist.

John Witherow, the Editor of The Sunday Times, said: "These awards always go well when we have something to shout about and the achievements of our sportswomen this year mean that we are justified in making a great deal of noise."


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