Stokes finished ahead of six-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton and Manchester City’s England striker Raheem Sterling while Asher-Smith saw off Team GB teammate Katarina Johnson-Thompson and footballer Lucy Bronze. England’s one day cricket winners pipped Liverpool FC and the England men’s rugby union team.

Asher-Smith, history-making winner of three medals at this year’s world championships in Doha, takes the top accolade for a second year in succession.

The SJA Awards were first staged in 1949 and are the oldest sports awards in Britain. Sponsored by The National Lottery, the event, staged at The Pavilion at the Tower of London, was attended by 400 celebrity guests from sport, politics and the media.

SJA President Patrick Collins presented the President’s award to John Blackie, who has coached Asher-Smith since she was eight years old.

The Sport for Social Change Award was won by Salaam Peace, an organisation founded  in Walthamstow, East London, as a direct response to the July 7 bombings in 2005. They operate in some of  the most diverse areas of the UK, and promote positive images of British Muslims.

The award – created in conjunction with ConnectSport and the Sport for Development Coalition, and supported by Oaks – aims to highlight the amazing work of organisations across the UK which are using sport and/or physical activity to create a positive impact.

The SJA British Sports Journalism Awards celebrate excellence among the country’s sports writers, photographers, broadcasters and editors, whether staff or freelance, working for nationals, regionals, daily or weekly newspapers, as well as specialist sports magazines, news agencies and digital formats.

The results – including the Sports Writer of the Year, the Sports Photographer of the Year, Sports Network and the Sports Newspaper of the Year – will be announced and the awards presented at the gala awards dinner in London on Monday 24 February 2020.