And the winner is... who?

A bemused Sir Steve Redgrave had to take a rare back seat last night when he was passed over in favour of a little-known Dutchman at the World Sports Awards. Even swimmer Pieter van den Hoogenband appeared embarrassed by the judges' decision not to recognise the man who won a gold medal at five consecutive Olympic Games.

A sheepish van den Hoogenband, who won three golds in Sydney, collected the trophy and then told the star-studded audience at the Royal Albert Hall in London: 'All I can say is: ''I'm sorry Steve''. Redgrave is a legend and a great Olympian - but I've won!

'I will be honest and say that, before the Olympics, I didn't know anything about him. But I heard about him at the Games and I have to say that, five gold medals at the Olympics, respect to that. He is a great athlete.'

Sir Steve, who won his first gold at Los Angeles in 1984 when van den Hoogenband was only six, took the decision in good part, grinning approvingly as the long-haired Dutchman clutched his trophy.

David Beckham was pipped to the football award by Real Madrid and Portugal star Luis Figo, who said: 'It's nice to win but what can I say about Beckham? He is a great player.'

Britain was victorious in the combat sports category, won by world heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis.

Michael Schumacher took the motorsports section, Americans Marion Jones and Michael Johnson lifted the athletics awards, while Wimbledon champion Venus Williams and golfer Tiger Woods were also among the winners.