Janette Cardy achieved one of her lifetime ambitions by returning to the Oxfordshire Sports Awards – and was stunned to walk away with the Sportswoman of the Year accolade.

The 43-year-old, from Witney, beat off competition from athlete Hannah England and motorbike racer Georgina Polden to lift the top honour at Oxford’s Kassam Stadium.

And a packed crowd at the glittering ceremony, listened in silence as the personal trainer revealed her inspirational recovery from serious illness to win European Championship gold and World Championship silver in aquathlon this year.

The evening, which was organised by the Oxfordshire Sports Partnership, marked all that is good about sport in the county, with a tremendous spread of people in the room, ranging from international athletes and gold medal winners, right down to young volunteers and up-and-coming stars.

And it was the story of Cardy that left the audience in awe of her recovery.

“I was here in 2010 and won the Go Active inspiration award for what I was doing in the community,” she explained.

“I thought the awards were just so inspiring and from that day I wanted to come back and be part of it again.

“Unfortunately, just after that I had a serious illness and had a stroke.

“I just hit rock bottom and didn’t know what was in store.

“But it was then I decided that I had to remember what my goal was and achieve it.

“With so much support from my family and friends, as well as Fusion Lifestyle, who have been a great help too with my training, I have managed to come back and it’s unbelievable to be here again.”

Aquathlon encompasses swimming and running, with Cardy explaining it seemed the obvious sport to get back into.

“I have always swum and so naturally to do swimming seemed sensible,” she said.

“And I found the running part fun so did that as well so it all made sense.

“My goal was to wear a GB vest, which I did in 2013 and finished fifth in the World Championships.

“Then this year I won the European Championships and managed to pick up silver in the World Championships.

“But to be here again and to win this is just incredible.”