Redgrave handed lifetime award

The Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards was presented to five-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Steve Redgrave by former Sports Personality winner Princess Anne.

As well as his Olympic achievements, which brought him gold medals in the pair and four in five successive Games from 1984-2000, Redgrave also won nine World Championship titles.

Off the water, he played a key role in helping London win the bid to host the Olympics in 2012 while his Steve Redgrave Fund has raised more than £6million for charity.

After a lengthy standing ovation, Redgrave said: "I never thought I would be here again. Eleven years ago I received the Sports Personality of the Year and I thought it would be the last time I achieved an award of any sort.

"To receive the Lifetime Achievement Award is a great honour for me but without the people around me it would never happen. And this allows me to right a wrong from 11 years ago.

"The one person I forgot to mention 11 years ago was my wife. My wife was an Olympic athlete in her own right and has been the team doctor on and off for 15 years and is now helping team in preparation for next year.

"Without the support from my family I would never have been able to achieve everything I did."

All the rowers Redgrave won Olympic medals with were on the stage apart from Andy Holmes, his team-mate in 1984 and 1998, who died from Weil's Disease last year, and the 50-year-old paid tribute to his friend, saying: "It would have been great to see him here tonight."

Redgrave, wearing a cast on his hand after a minor tendon operation yesterday, also tipped the British rowing team for major success in 2012, saying: "Our rowing team is much stronger than any years I was involved in the sport so expect great things."