1. Joe Calzaghe - A world champion for more than a decade, Welsh dragon Joe Calzaghe unified boxing’s world super-middleweight titles when he outpointed Denmark’s Mikkel Kessler on November 3. Despite shunning publicity and having had the majority of his fights televised on satellite television, Calzaghe's 21 successful world title defences now place him above the likes of British boxing icons Ricky Hatton, Naseem Hamed and Lennox Lewis.

Watch: Calzaghe sizes up Kessler

2. James Toseland - The 27-year-old Yorkshire flyer is a two-time World Superbikes Champion. He triumphed in 2004 riding for Ducati and repeated the feat this year for Ten Kate Honda. While Lewis Hamilton’s fruitless Formula 1 odyssey dominated the headlines, Toseland edged out Italian Max Biaggi and Japan’s Noriyuki Haga to claim the world title at the season’s final weekend at Magny Cours.

3. Victoria Pendleton - The likes of Bradley Wiggins and Chris Hoy have elevated British track cycling to a world class level but even their great achievements pale in comparison to those of Victoria Pendleton. At the 2007 UCI Track World Championships, the 27-year-old claimed three gold medals in the Women's Team Sprint, the Individual Women's Sprint and the Women's Keirin.

4. Christine Ohuruogu - British track and field had been much maligned until the Women’s 400 metres final at the World Athletics Championships in Osaka. Just 24 days after the end of her controversial 12-month competition suspension, Ohuruogu returned to surprise the field and win the gold medal in a dramatic blanket finish. Her fellow British athlete Nicola Sanders took the silver medal to complete a famous British 1-2.

5. And finally… Chris Harding - While Britain can legitimately claim success in some of the world’s biggest sports, the unsung world of alternative sporting championships competition is dominated by British winners. The latest addition to Britain’s hall of unlikely sporting fame is Chris Harding who exerted Tiger Woods-style dominance as he won the World Crazy Golf Championship in Hastings. 44-year-old Harding crushed the 60-person field to take the title by nine clear shots.