The prestigious award rounded off an exceptional season for the 20-year-old from Yorkshire, in which he won the International Triathlon Union (ITU) Sprint Triathlon World Championships in Lausanne and the under23 ITU Triathlon World title in Budapest.

Brownlee successfully made the transition to senior level competition this year, with one of his highlight performances in front of a home crowd at the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship London presented by Tata Steel, where he raced to second place behind 2010 world champion Javier Gomez.

Older brother Alistair Brownlee also ended a successful year, winning the GE British Triathlon Male Elite Athlete of the Year Award in addition to a new award for 2010, the Peter Holmes Award for Inspirational Performance in International Competition.

Despite making a late start to the season after recovering from a stress fracture, the 2009 world champion claimed two Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series victories, winning both Madrid and the season finale in Budapest.

Alistair (pictured) also won the European Triathlon Union (ETU) Triathlon European Championships, a title he highlighted as a key target back in 2009, and was determined to add to his palmares.

This strength of character and his inspirational victory in Athlone were two of the principal reasons for Alistair's second award of the evening: the Peter Holmes Award for Inspirational Performance in International Competition.



The award recognises the commitment and passion of Peter Holmes, ITU Communications Manager, whose tragic loss in December 2009 in a winter sports accident in Canada, greatly saddened all at British Triathlon.

The award will be presented annually to the athlete who is considered to have achieved the most outstanding performance of the year in triathlon or our associated multisports. The evening also recognised triathlon's high profile female achievers.

Helen Jenkins won the GE British Triathlon Female Elite Athlete of the Year for the third year in succession following two podium finishes in the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series and bronze in the 2010 Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Elite Cup.

Jenkins' consistency across the season, never finishing outside the top-15, delivered a fourth placed world ranking position.

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September 2010: Brownlee brothers go head-to-head in season finale
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August 2010: Brownlee pipped for European title
August 2010: Brownlee wins world triathlon title in Lausanne
July 2010: Brownlee hits wall as Gomez wins in Hyde Park