SAILING: Australian Olympic gold medallist Mathew Belcher has won the male World Sailor of the Year award.

Belcher - on the back of a two-year winning streak, four world championships in a row, gold at the London Olympics and numerous World Cup events - is just the second Australian to receive the honour in its 19-year history.

The 31-year-old also claimed the Australian Sailor of the Year award in October with his 470 class crew-mate Will Ryan.

"It has been an unbelievable couple of years for me both on and off the water - and the world sailor award really caps it off," Belcher said.

It was the third time in four years he had been nominated for the title.

Belcher beat fellow Australian and world speed sailing record holder Paul Larsen, US kitesurfer Johnny Heinken, French Vendee Globe winner Francois Gabart and British match racer Ian Williams.

Olympic sailing champion Tom Slingsby is the only other Australian to have won the world sailor award, having taken the title in 2010.

Belcher's 17-regatta winning streak began way back in November 2011 with former crew-mate Malcolm Page, who also attended the ISAF awards night in Oman.

The pairing and their highly respected coach Victor Kovalenko became simply unbeatable, extending their run right through to their gold medal victory at last year's Olympics.

With Page's retirement, Belcher teamed up with Ryan, a reserve sailor at the 2012 Games.

If anything the new pairing became even stronger - winning all 10 races at their first regatta, December's Sail Melbourne World Cup event.

Since then they have added the 2013 world title and European title and a string of World Cup victories.

But there is little prospect of a rest for Belcher - with the 2013 Sail Melbourne regatta just around the corner, a new boat to launch, a nomination for this week's Australian Institute of Sport Awards to deal with, along with his new baby - and Kovalenko cracking the whip.

"Yeah he's a hard man - as soon as we get home, that's it, Victor will have us back out on the water," Belcher said.

New Zealand 470 class sailors Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie, nicknamed Team Jolly, were handed the female award.

The winners of the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards were decided by vote by the Member National Authorities (MNAs) of ISAF following a worldwide selection process that began with an open invitation for nominations. Two awards, one for a female sailor/crew and one for a male sailor/crew, were presented to the individuals who are deemed to have most distinguished themselves during the qualifying period from 1 September 2012 to 31 August 2013.

Past recipients of the Awards - which were launched in 1994 - have been drawn from the diverse disciplines of the sport: Olympic dinghy and keelboats, single-handed ocean racing, transatlantic record breaking, match-racing, America's Cup and windsurfing are all represented. In addition to the magnificent ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Trophy, each winner is presented with a Rolex timepiece.

The full list of nominees for the coveted and prestigious 2013 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards were:

Male
Mathew Belcher (AUS) - Men's 470 World & Olympic Champion
François Gabart (FRA) - IMOCA World Champion & 2012-13 Vendée Globe Winner
Johnny Heineken (USA) - Kiteboarding World #1 & 2012 Men's Course Racing World Champion
Paul Larsen (AUS) - Vestas Sailrocket 2 Outright Speed Record
Ian Williams (GBR) - Match Racing 2012 Match Racing World Champion
World #1 Open Match Racer for 16 consecutive releases starting in January 2012

Female
Jo Aleh & Olivia Powrie (NZL) - Women's 470 World & Olympic Champions
Deneen Demourkas (USA) - Farr 30 2013 World Champion - third consecutive title
Erika Heineken (USA) - Kiteboarding 2012 Course Racing World Champion
Raiya Al Habsi (OMA) - First Omani Woman To Sail in the Rolex Fastnet Race

AAP & ISAF