Sportswoman of the Year is Christine Ohuruogu

Christine Ohuruogu

British born Nigerian Christine Ohuruogu has been named Sunday Times and Sky Sports Sportswoman of the Year during an awards ceremony at Sky Studios in London.

"It's such a hard category, which is really great, it means we have women who are excelling and doing so much better than people expect us to do," Ohuruogu said.

"I am shocked but I am really happy now."

                                              

Ohuruogu was awarded an MBE in the wake of her gold medal success at the 2008 Olympics and became the first British woman to claim a second world title when she won the 400m final in Moscow this August.

But despite achieving so much, Ohuruogu is still looking to the future.

"The minute you stop looking for something to improve on is the minute you stop running. The plan is to go to Rio (2016 Olympics) but I have to stay fit," she added.

Ohuruogu held off competition from Cyclist Becky James (second); triathlete Non Stanford (third) and also world skeleton champion Shelley Rudman, double Olympic equestrian gold medallist Charlotte Dujardin and England cricketer Heather Knight.

The 22-year-old from Abergavenny is the current world sprint and keirin champion after beating Germany's Kristina Vogel to claim her first world gold medal.

"It's incredible to win this award, it's just a great end to an incredible year I have had," she said. "To finish off 2013 with an award like this, I just couldn't ask for much more."