Britton ends on a highas decision time looms

Irish Times/Vhi Healthcare Sports Woman Award for December: Fionnuala Britton (Athletics):Twelve months since we crowned Cork footballer and camogie player Briege Corkery our Sportswoman of the Year, succeeding our inaugural winner Cathy Gannon, it's decision time again for the panel of judges who must now choose our sportswoman of 2006 from an impressive shortlist that includes a dozen names. The winner will be announced at an awards presentation in Dublin on Friday afternoon.

If the judging task in 2004 and 2005 was tricky enough it will prove particularly challenging this time around in light of the achievements of our 12 monthly winners, who represent athletics (three), camogie and Gaelic football, equestrian sport, golf, hockey, horse racing, rowing, squash and tennis.

Corkery put herself in contention again when she repeated her 2005 success by winning the double with Cork. Jessica Kürten excelled internationally, as did Derval O'Rourke and Katie Taylor, both of whom won World and European medals in their chosen sports.

Golfer Claire Coughlan and squash professional Madeline Perry reached new highs, Coughlan qualifying for this year's European Tour for the first time and Perry climbing to six in the world rankings. The highlight of Sinéad Jennings and Niamh Ní Cheilleachair's year was winning rowing bronze at the second leg of the World Cup in Poland, while both Fiona Connery (hockey) and Kelly Liggan (tennis) had memorable years in their sports.

Nina Carberry simply confirmed what was already known about her, she's a horse racing star in the making, while Joanne Cuddihy's performances at the European athletics championships suggested her future in the sport might just be dazzlingly bright.

The 2006 list is completed by our December winner, 23-year-old Wicklow runner Fionnuala Britton. Britton, who is in the final year of a sports science degree at Dublin City University, was a junior runner of some distinction, winning a record three successive national cross country titles. It was in December, though, that she emerged as an international athlete of some promise when she won a silver medal in the under-23 race at the European Cross Country Championships in Italy.

It was the first medal-winning success by an individual Irish woman in the event since Catherina McKiernan triumphed in the inaugural senior race in 1994 and completed an encouraging year for Britton. Back in August she qualified for the 3,000 metres steeplechase at the European championships in Gothenburg, where she improved her personal best to nine minutes 49.20 seconds - inside the B standard for next summer's World championships in Osaka. She also won her first international race in the Netherlands and was a comfortable winner of the national inter-counties title in Dungarvan.

Still coached by her old Slí Cualann club mentor Pat Diskin in Wicklow, Britton, who has also benefited from DCU's scholarship scheme, will look to the 2007 season with some confidence after the achievements of the year just passed.

That, then, is our list of 2006 monthly award winners, whose achievements through the year will be taken into account by the judges, and not just from the month they won the award, when the decision on the overall winner is made.

Jessica Kürten (Equestrian):A brilliant start to the year, which featured seven successive international wins, lifted Kürten to second in the world rankings.

Derval O'Rourke (Athletics):Gold at the World Indoor Championships in March, followed by silver at the European Championships - enough said.

Madeline Perry (Squash):Rose to a career high of sixth in the world rankings in the early half of the year.

Nina Carberry (Horse racing):Crowned champion amateur for the first time in April, was one of only nine finishers in the Aintree Grand National and won her first Grade One race at the Punchestown Festival.

Fiona Connery (Hockey):The Hermes defender won her 50th cap for Ireland during April's World Cup Qualifier in Rome, was named player of the tournament in the All-Ireland League play-offs, and finished the season with All-Ireland, Irish Senior Cup and Leinster League winners' medals.

Sinéad Jennings and Niamh Ní Cheilleachair (Rowing):The pair won bronze in the lightweight double sculls final at the second leg of the World Cup in Poznan, Poland, the first medal at senior international level for an Irish women's crew in an Olympic-class boat.

Joanne Cuddihy (Athletics):The Kilkenny athlete won the 200 and 400 metres double at the national championships in July and in Gothenburg became the first Irish woman to make a European 400-metre final since Maeve Kyle in 1962.

Kelly Liggan (Tennis): Before August the top ranked Irish player had won two International Tennis Federation titles - by the end of the month she'd doubled that tally, winning ITF hard-court tournaments in Spain and Portugal.

Briege Corkery (Camogie and Gaelic Football):Our 2005 Sportswoman of the Year was up to her usual tricks again in 2006, winning the double for the second year running with Cork.

Katie Taylor (Boxing):In September the 20-year-old from Bray successfully defended her European Championship title in Poland, in October she rose to first in the world amateur rankings, and in November she topped it all by winning her lightweight final at the World Championships in India.

Claire Coughlan (Golf):The 26-year-old from Little Island in Cork survived eight rounds to tie for first at the European Tour's Final Qualifying School in Spain, securing herself full playing rights for the 2007 Women's European Tour.

Fionnuala Britton (Athletics):The Wicklow woman won silver in the under-23 race at the European Cross Country Championships in Italy, the first Irish woman to win an individual medal at the event in 12 years.