The 25-year-old from Dovecot capped his fine year by claiming a silver medal in the -68kg category at the recent French Open in Paris earlier this month to compliment his 2011 World Championship bronze and three gold medals from the US Open, German Open and British Opens.

Stamper faced tough opposition for the prize from 2011 World Champion Sarah Stevenson and teenager Jade Jones but managed to hold off the pair to collect the prestigious trophy at a special ceremony attended by the GB performance director, Gary Hall, and GB taekwondo chairman, Jeremy Beard.

"It has been a great year and this has really topped it off," said Stamper.

"I have put in some good performances in the past but haven't turned them into medals.

"This year they have and I've managed to keep it going throughout the year.

"I am so proud to be awarded Athlete of the Year, even more so because the team has done so well and there have been some great performances from other GB athletes.

"I've worked hard this year and a lot of the credit must go to my coach Steve Jennings and to the support staff in the GB Taekwondo Academy.

"I just need to keep going now into 2012."

Stamper's silver medal in France rounded off a memorable year but came on a gruelling day of competition where he won five matches before a battling to an 8-7 final defeat against Vladimir Kim of Russia.

"It's been a great year and I've turned it around at the right time," he said.

"I've put in some good performances and in the past some of those good performances haven't turned into medals.

"This year they have and I've managed to keep it going throughout the year."

Stamper's 2012 Olympic hopes rest with a GB selection panel which will meet after May's European Championships in Manchester.

The Liverpool man's performances at five tournaments next year will form the bulk of the selection decision and with medals already secured from the British and French Opens this year, Stamper is well on track to compete at London 2012 when the competition takes place at the ExCeL Arena.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
December 2011: Double medal success for GB taekwondo team at French Open
February 2011: Stamper and Jones are Britian's golden wonders