Christine Ohuruogu admits her recognition as Sunday Times and Sky Sports Sportswoman of the Year capped an amazing year for her both on and off the track.
The Londoner was presented with her award at a ceremony in Sky Studios where she claimed the top honour ahead of cyclist Becky James and triathlete Non Stanford.
"It was an honour to be recognised with the award last night," said Christine, who set a British record of 49.41 seconds on her way to 400m gold at the Athletics World Championships in Moscow this summer.
"It caps what has been an incredible 2013 for me. Coming off the back of the London Olympics was always going to be difficult as I had put an incredible amount of energy into the Games and didn't quite know how this year was going to hold up.
"It was always going to be a challenge but I set myself a goal of getting the British record, my main target for the year, so it was great to finish the season knowing that I had got what I had set out out to do at the start.
"And it's great to be recognised for what you have done, how hard you have worked and for what you have achieved but now it all starts again in the build-up to 2014."
Hunger
The 29-year-old, who has set herself a target of competing at the Olympics in Rio in 2016, is now looking to reclaim the Commonwealth gold medal at next year's Games in Glasgow.
Christine, who won 400m gold at Melbourne in 2006, said: "It's back to work for me now, back to training and looking ahead to the new year and getting prepared for what's next.
"Rio is my goal but I will be concentrating on 2014 first. It's a home Games and every competition on home ground brings its own pressures.
"Every championship brings its hunger but more so when it's at home. Nobody wants to get there and finish less than they know they are capable of.
"People are really excited about the Games in Glasgow and I hope that the spirit of 2012 will carry over there with everyone just wanting to be part of it.
"London was a great test for the home athletes and most of us came out unscathed which will have given us a lot of confidence for next year.
"After that the thoughts turn to Rio and my focus will be to make sure I concentrate on the many little things I have to do to ensure that I get to Brazil in 2016 in once piece."
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 missed the ceremony as she was competing at the Track Cycling World Cup where she won a silver medal in the women's team sprint.
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.
England captain Pamela Cookey told Sky Sports News: "I'm so pleased to have won this for netball in general - and women's sport."
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.
Rimla Akhtar's excellent work as chair of the Muslim Women's Sport Foundation was recognised with the Community Award.
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.
Meanwhile, Sarah Springman's achievements in the world of triathlon and biathlon were recognised with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
