Sgt John Willacy was presented with the Combined Services Sportsman of the Year award by HRH the Duchess of Cornwall at the ceremony, which took place at the Royal Air Force Club in London.
Previous recipients of the award include Kriss Akabusi, Rory Underwood and double Olympic gold medalist Dame Kelly Holmes
Sgt Willacy began his canoe career with Garstang Canoe Club, and despite now working on Anglesey as an RAF engineer on Sea King search and rescue helicopters, he still maintains ties to the town through family who live in the area.
He has since represented the RAF at Combined Services and at an international level in a variety of canoe disciplines since joining in 1985. In that time he has amassed an amazing 200 Inter Service and RAF medals, as well as a Bronze Medal at the 2006 World Masters Championships and four British National titles.
Speaking after recieving his award, Sgt Willacy said: ''There have been some illustrious winners of this award in the past and there are some illustrious people out there today. When I heard the citations of the other guys I was very impressed and wasn't quite sure if I met the standard but I was very pleased when I heard my name called out. It was a proud moment for me.
''The last 12 months have been fairly busy for me starting off with the Inter Service Championships which I managed to take all five titles at. I worked through the rest of the year, winning a National Championship title in October. Interspersed throughout the year I took part in a number of other Inter Services events so it was a busy year.''
Although he has paddled in most of the canoe disciplines available, Sgt Willacy is also a keen sea kayaker, spending four months improving his skills on solo trips during a tour in the Falkland Islands. He then returned to the UK to smash the Anglesey circumnavigation record in 2006, completing the 120km in 10 hours 45 minutes, and has also crossed the Irish Sea and circumnavigated Wales for charity.
Yet despite all his success, he is still on the look out for new challenges, with circumnavigating the British Isles on his 'to do' list.
''It's something I've been looking to do for a few years but it's quite a commitment, time wise more than anything. It would probably take four or five months to do, with lots of logistics involved, food etc stashed around the country so there's a bit more to it than just going out in a boat and paddling off into the sunset, but I'm working on it," he said.
When he is not in the water himself, Sgt Willacy is busy sharing his wealth of knowledge and experience. For over two years he has been a national coach for the GB Wild Water Racing team and also acts as a personal coach to a number of GB and local canoe club paddlers who are keen to improve their skills.