Dressage superstar Charlotte Dujardin has been voted BT Sport’s Action Woman of the Year after a sensational 2014 which saw her become a double World Champion. Dujardin, and her fabulous horse Valegro, won gold in the freestyle and special events at the World Equestrian Games in Normandy, making her the first British equestrian rider to simultaneously hold Olympic, world, European and World Cup titles.
She was named the winner of the Action Woman Award following a public vote on the BT Sport website, with double World Cup winning climber Shauna Coxsey coming second and European 10,000m champion Jo Pavey in third place.
The award, which is in its second year, celebrates the 10 most spectacular sporting performances by British female athletes in the past year was presented by last year’s winner, downhill mountain biking champion Rachel Atherton, during a star-studded ceremony hosted by Clare Balding at BT Sport’s Olympic Park studios on Tuesday night.
On top of her individual World Equestrian Games success, Dujardin also helped Great Britain to silver in the team event, as well as claiming victory at the dressage World Cup finals in Lyon in April. Dujardin, who became known as ‘the girl on the dancing horse’ at the 2012 Olympics, also holds dressage world records in all three elements of her sport.
Second-placed Coxsey, from Runcorn, won two bouldering World Cup series gold medals to become the first British woman ever on the podium in the sport.
Jo Pavey, who came third, was at the centre of one of the year’s biggest sporting stories as the mum-of-two became the oldest ever female European champion, winning 10,000m gold just weeks before her 41st birthday.
The other nominees for what has to be the best titled awards ceremony were:
Fara Williams – England’s most capped football player (male or female) with 132 appearances.
Charlotte Edwards – England’s Ashes winning cricket captain
Emily Scarratt – England’s Rugby World Cup winning centre and goal-kicker
Jordanne Whiley – Grand Slam-winning women’s wheelchair doubles tennis champion
Helen Glover and Heather Stanning – Record-breaking rowing World Champions
Claudia Fragapane – Commonwealth gymnastics champion
Lizzy Yarnold – Olympic skeleton gold medalist
I’m sure you will agree that each of these women deserved to win this award, in an amazing year of women’s sport.
