England men's cricket awarded Team of the Year; Heptathlon world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson wins Outstanding Performance of the Year
Thursday 28 November 2019 16:04, UK
England's Cricket World Cup hero Ben Stokes and world champion sprinter Dina Asher-Smith have been named Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year at the SJA British Sports Awards.
Asher-Smith, who won three medals at this year's World Athletics Championships in Doha, takes the top prize for a second year in a row. The awards are voted for by members of the Sports Journalists' Association.
Stokes saw off competition from six-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton and Manchester City star Raheem Sterling, while Asher-Smith received more votes than Lyon and England footballer Lucy Bronze and fellow athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson.
Johnson-Thompson, who joins Asher-Smith, Stokes, Hamilton, and Wales rugby captain Alun Wyn Jones as nominees for Sports Personality of the Year, was awarded Outstanding Performance of the Year after winning heptathlon gold at the World Athletics Championships.
The England men's cricket team were recognised for their World Cup triumph this summer as they beat Champions League winners Liverpool and Rugby World Cup finalists England to the Team of the Year prize.
Stokes' England team-mate Jofra Archer, who bowled in the crucial Super Over in the victory over New Zealand in July, won the Trophy for International Newcomer.
John Blackie, who has coached Asher-Smith since she was eight years old, won the SJA President's Award, while horse racing trainer John Gosden OBE picked up the SJA Committee Award after passing 3,000 winners on the flat in Britain in October.
The Sport for Social Change Award was won by Salaam Peace, an organisation that aims to use sports, media and education initiatives as a way of bringing people together from diverse backgrounds.
Sportsman of the Year: Ben Stokes (cricket)
Sportswoman of the Year: Dina Asher-Smith (athletics)
Team of the Year: England men's cricket
JL Manning Award for Services Off the Field of Play: Tracey Neville MBE (netball)
SJA Bill McGowran Trophy for Achievement in Para Sport: Aled Davies MBE (para athletics) and Alice Tai MBE (para swimming)
SJA Chairman's Award: Ellen White (football)
SJA Committee Award: John Gosden OBE (horse racing)
SJA Pat Besford Award for Outstanding Performance of the Year: Katarina Johnson-Thompson (athletics)
SJA Peter Wilson Trophy for International Newcomer: Jofra Archer (cricket)
SJA President's Award: John Blackie (athletics)
World Sport Achievement Award for an Outstanding Achievement Competing Internationally: Josh Warrington (boxing)
The National Lottery Spirit of Sport Award: Lizzy Yarnold OBE (skeleton)
Sport for Social Change: Salaam Peace