The 21-year-old Yorkshireman was not among the 10 chosen for the country's most prestigious sports award despite an outstanding season during which he won five Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championship Series races and was crowned world champion on Australia's Gold Coast in September.

 

But he was not included in a short-list that is headed by Formula One world champion Jenson Button and also includes tennis player Andy Murray, cycling's Mark Cavendish, world champion diver Tom Daley, Manchester United captain Ryan Giggs, world champion heptathlete Jessica Ennis and triple jumper Phillips Idowu.

 

World heavyweight champion David Haye, England cricket captain Andrew Strauss, and world gymnastics gold medallist Beth Tweddle are the other candidates for the award to be announced during a live show on BBC1 on December 13.

 

Hyde-Peters said: "Alistair had a fantastic year in 2009, repeatedly winning at the highest level to become world champion, beating the Olympic and World Champions along the way in his first full senior season at the age of 21. 

 

"These achievements are highly valued and clearly as a sport we believe Alistair would have been worthy of nomination and would have attracted great public support."

 

Brownlee, who is leading a poll currently being held on insidethegames, has established himself as one of Britain's outstanding hopes for a gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics and the poster-boy of triathlon, one of the country's fastest growing sports.

 

Hyde-Peters said: "Triathlon continues to grow in popularity  as shown by Chrissie Wellington's Sunday Times Sports Woman of the Year Award by public vote and by the BBC’s growing interest in the sport – showing live the London leg of the Dextro Energy  World Championship Series in the Olympic venue of Hyde Park, to a peak audience of 1.6 million."

 

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