Olympic silver medallist Annalise Murphy has been crowned The Irish Times Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Year for 2016.
The 26 year old, claimed silver in the Women's Laser Radial Class following a pulsating medal race at Guanabara Bay in Rio in August.
Murphy, from Rathfarnham in Dublin, displayed tremendous courage and skill to bounce back from the disappointment of a 4th place finish at the London Olympics in 2012. At the Awards she described how she had to pick herself up from paralysing self doubt just months ahead of the Games before battling her way through the six day event for a deserved podium place.
"It's just so wonderful to have your achievements recognised in this way. When you hear about all the achievements of all the monthly award winners you realise what a great place we're in...It's an incredible day out to get to chat with the other women that have won awards. I really love it, it's a pretty special day" Murphy said.
Her success was Ireland's first medal in sailing since David Wilkins and James Wilkinson won silver in the Flying Dutchman class in Moscow back in 1980.
This is the 13th year of the awards and the sailor had to overcome competition from 11 other monthly award winners to claim the 2016 title.