Jessica Ennis and David Weir named athletes of the year

Published on 19/10/2012 00:00

Heptathlete Jessica Ennis and wheelchair racer David Weir rounded off a golden year of success by being voted British Olympic and Paralympic Athlete of the Year.

Athletics fans voted for Ennis, the Olympic heptathlon champion, and Weir, who won four golds at the Paralympics, as their stars of 2012.

Ennis secured 48 per cent of the vote, beating double Olympic champion Mo Farah by just four per cent, while Weir also collected 48 per cent of the vote, narrowly pipping double gold medallist Hannah Cockroft to the post, UK Athletics said.

An 80,000 capacity crowd at London’s Olympic Stadium watched Ennis, of Sheffield, take gold in a new British record score of 6,955. “Thank you to all of the UK Athletics fans for voting me the British Olympic Athlete of the Year – what an honour,” she said. “The support of all the athletics fans is so important for us athletes and this year especially – your support at all the events running up to London was so important. What a great year 2012 has been!”

Weir, 33, won gold in the 800m, 1500m, 5000m and marathon to go alongside the two golds he picked up in the Beijing 2008 Paralympics.

Weir, of Wallington, Surrey, said: “It’s a great honour to have been voted British Paralympic Athlete of the Year, especially considering that Great Britain had a number of athletes that won gold medals and performed so well in London. It’s been such a great year for me and my success at the Paralympics is something that I will always remember.

“To have my performances recognised by athletics fans across the country is a great way to end the year.”