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Mary Earps: England and Manchester United goalkeeper named Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year

Mary Earps named The Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year and England Football win Team of the Year award; Snowboarding world champion Mia Brookes is the Young Sportswoman of the Year; Hannah Cockroft wins the Citi Disability Sportswoman of the Year

England's goalkeeper Mary Earps reacts after saving Spain's penalty kick during the Women's World Cup soccer final between Spain and England at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia,
Image: England goalkeeper Mary Earps conceded only four goals and kept three clean sheets which earned her the Golden Glove at the Women's World Cup

Manchester United and England goalkeeper Mary Earps has been named The Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year.

The prestigious awards, now in their 36th year, have led the way in recognising and celebrating the outstanding contribution made to sport by women at all levels, from elite to grassroots and community-wide.

Earps was a standout performer in England's run to the Women's World Cup final, playing every minute of the Lionesses seven matches, conceding only four goals and keeping three clean sheets which earned her the Golden Glove.

Subsequently, The Team of the Year award went to England Football for becoming the first England football team since 1966 to make it to a World Cup final and the first England women's team ever to do so.

England face Nigeria in the last 16 of the Women's World Cup

Mia Brookes, 16, was awarded the Young Sportswoman of the Year after becoming the youngest world champion in snowboarding history when she won slopestyle gold in Bakuriani, Georgia, in February.

Hannah Cockroft won the Citi Disability Sportswoman of the Year for setting four world records across three days at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in February. Three months later, she broke two of her own world records, setting a new world-leading time in the T34 100m (16.31sec) in May, and 28.90 seconds in the T34 200m.

The Helen Rollason Award for Inspiration went to Katie Archibald, who is one of Great Britain's most successful track cyclists, taking a historic Olympic Madison title at the most recent Olympic Games in Tokyo. However, in early 2022, Archibald suffered a series of traumas in a road traffic accident and later that year, suddenly lost her partner Rab Wardell.

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Archibald turned back to cycling and won a silver medal in October 2022 on her return to competition before claiming her 18th, 19th and 20th European titles.

Welsh cricket coach Aimee Rees was voted Grassroots Sportswoman of the Year while Tess Howard was awarded the Changemaker Award for leading a campaign for change in female sports kits after research she conducted showed that many women and girls stop playing sport as a result of issues with the clothing.

The public nominated sportswomen in their hundreds across all categories, which were then narrowed down to a shortlist by an expert judging panel, which included some of the most prominent names in women's sport governance and broadcasting.

Once the shortlist had been decided, the public voted for the winners in three categories: Grassroots, Changemaker, and Team of the Year.

The elite categories (Sportswoman of the Year, Citi Disability Sportswoman of the Year and Young Sportswoman of the Year) were decided by a group of VIP judges, including former Lioness Jill Scott, Olympian Jessica Ennis-Hill and Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson.

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