Ben Ainslie has won the prestigious ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year award for a record third time. The Englishman is widely regarded as one of the greatest sailors that Britain has ever produced, having won three Olympic gold medals and several international championships.

Fellow British sailor, Shirley Robertson, has praised Ben for being a fierce competitor on the water and for remaining modest despite numerous awards: “everybody in the sailing world looks up to him. I'm amazed at how professional he is and the fact that he's virtually unbeatable.”

Ainslie won his first Olympic medal in Atlanta in 1996 after his efforts in the Laser class. He was crowned Sailor of the Year for the first time in 1998 and has remained unbeaten in the Finn class for the last four years.

The Englishman also holds the record for the most victories held by an individual at the Finn Gold Cup tournament.

Ben received his award at a ceremony in Madrid in November. Britain’s female Skandia team was nominated for its resounding achievements in the Yngling class but lost out to Italian windsurfer, Alessandra Sensini.

Ainslie has been nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award alongside Joe Calzaghe and Lewis Hamilton. The event will take place on Sunday 14th December at the Liverpool Echo Arena. The female Yngling sailing team has also been nominated.

Team Origin, Ainslie’s America’s Cup team, recently came ninth in the annual Monsoon Cup – an unfortunate end to a very successful year.