He completed his feat at Klagenfurt in the gruelling Ironman, which includes a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile marathon, in the record time of 7 hours, 4min 58sec- 4:29  better than Luc Van Lierde's time of 7:50.27, which he set in 1997 at the Ironman Europe race.

Vanhoenacker was three minutes ahead of the record time when he started the marathon, which he completed in 2:42:27.

"Nobody else represents athletic versatility and prowess like Jim Thorpe did in the early 20th century," Vanhoenacker said.

"I'm indescribably grateful and proud to be honoured with this award."

The Commerzbank athlete entered his first triathlon in 1997 and his first Ironman in 2001.

His first Ironman victory came in Florida in 2005, but Vanhoenacker now has his sights on winning his first Ironman Hawaii - the mother of all triathlons and the Ironman World Championship.

He had his best finish there in 2010 when he came in third place.

"To shatter the Ironman world record by more than four minutes is an incredible achievement," said Dr Thomas P Rosandich, the Academy's President and chief executive.

"Like Jim Thorpe before him, Marino has proven he is a great athlete in a sport that tests the limits of human performance and he very much deserves this Academy award."

The Jim Thorpe All-Around Award - named after the American Indian who became a legend for his athletic prowess at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm where he won both the pentathlon and decathlon events - is presented to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in multiple sport and/or multiple events of the same sport.

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