Christine Ohuruogu has been named Sunday Times and Sky Sports Sportswoman of the Year during an awards ceremony at Sky Studios in London.
Previous winners of the prestigious award include Sally Gunnell, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Paula Radcliffe and Victoria Pendleton, while last year's award went to Jessica Ennis-Hill after she won gold at the London Olympics.
But it was Ohuruogu's turn to take the spotlight this year, as the 400m runner beat off competition from a strong shortlist.
"It's such a hard category, which is really great, it means we have women who are excelling and doing so much better than people expect us to do," she said.
"I am shocked but I am really happy now."
Ohuruogu was awarded an MBE in the wake of her gold medal success at the 2008 Olympics and became the first British woman to claim a second world title when she won the 400m final in Moscow this August.
But despite achieving so much, Ohuruogu is still looking to the future.
"The minute you stop looking for something to improve on is the minute you stop running. The plan is to go to Rio (2016 Olympics) but I have to stay fit," she added.
Cyclist Becky James came second, while triathlete Non Stanford was placed third.
The list also included world skeleton champion Shelley Rudman, double Olympic equestrian gold medallist Charlotte Dujardin and England cricketer Heather Knight.
Young award
James may have been edged out by Ohuruogu for the overall award but she claimed the honours in the Young Sportswoman of the Year category.
The 22-year-old from Abergavenny is the current world sprint and keirin champion after beating Germany's Kristina Vogel to claim her first world gold medal.
"It's incredible to win this award, it's just a great end to an incredible year I have had," she said. "To finish off 2013 with an award like this, I just couldn't ask for much more."
In the Team of the Year Award, voted for by readers of the Sunday Times and Sky Sports viewers, England's netball side was rewarded for a superb season that saw them claim 11 victories from 12 international matches.
They secured series whitewashes over South Africa and Jamaica, as well as an historic 3-0 win over reigning world champions Australia.
The Disability Sports Person of the Year accolade went to 15-year-old swimmer Amy Marren, who won four gold medals and two silvers at the IPC Swimming World Championships in Montreal.
Marren was victorious in the S9 100m Butterfly and the SM9 200m Individual Medley, and was also part of the 4x100m Freestyle Relay and 4x100m Medley Relay teams that won gold.
Rimla Akhtar's excellent work as chair of the Muslim Women's Sport Foundation was recognised with the Community Award.
Akhtar has worked tirelessly to encourage and support Muslim women who want to take up sport by providing female-only training sessions and coaching programmes.
Achievement
Two individual achievement awards were also presented.
The Helen Rollason Award for Inspiration went to former British rower Sarah Winckless, who won a bronze medal in the double sculls at the 2004 Athens Olympics and was world champion in the following two years.
Winckless has been a tireless campaigner for Huntington's Disease charities after being diagnosed with the disease in 1997. She will develop the condition at some point and there is no known way of preventing its onset.
Meanwhile, Sarah Springman's achievements in the world of triathlon and biathlon were recognised with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Springman represented Great Britain at the elite level from 1983 to 1993 and amassed 21 elite ETU European Championship medals in both disciplines. Since retiring, she has taken an active role in the administration and promotion of the sport.
