Gymnast Arthur Mariano and boxer Beatriz Ferreira were named best athletes at the ceremony ©Getty Images

Gymnast Arthur Mariano and boxer Beatriz Ferreira have been named best male and female of the year, respectively, at the Brazilian Olympic Awards.

Mariano scooped the top men's prize having won gold in the horizontal bar event at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart.

The 26-year-old, bronze medallist in the floor competition at his home Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, was also a member of the Brazilian squad which claimed team honours at the Pan American Games in Lima.

Ferreira was named best female athlete of the year after she clinched the lightweight title at the Women's World Boxing Championships in Ulan-Ude in Russia.

It marked the second major triumph of 2019 for the 27-year-old, who topped the lightweight podium at the Pan American Games.

Arthur Mariano won the horizontal bar event at this year's Artistic Gymnastics World Championships ©Getty Images
Arthur Mariano won the horizontal bar event at this year's Artistic Gymnastics World Championships ©Getty Images

"This year was amazing," Ferreira said.

"But Tokyo 2020 is right there, and I intend to go there and win a medal.

"I want to thank everyone who helps me, since I would not get anywhere alone, and believe me because I'm going to represent Brazil well in Tokyo."

Joaquim Cruz, gold medallist in the 800 metres at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, was among the high-profile former Brazilian athletes elected into the Brazilian Olympic Committee Hall of Fame at the ceremony in Rio.

Maria Lenk, a former swimmer and the athlete who the Aquatics Centre used at Rio 2016 is named after, and 1920 Olympic shooting champion Guilherme Paraense were elected posthumously.