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Three Britons have been included in the nine nominees for the 2009 World Sailor of the Year award.

Laser star Paul Goodison (pictured), offshore sailor Sam Davies and Hilary Lister - who became the first disabled woman to sail solo around Britain - were named in the five-man, four-woman lists.

Olympic champion Goodison won his fifth consecutive European title in Sweden and claimed a first World Championship title in Halifax, Canada.

He stayed unbeaten during the award nomination period between September 1, 2008 and August 31, 2009, winning World Cup events in France, the Netherlands and Germany, although missed out on gold in Weymouth on September 8.

Goodison is up against transatlantic record-breaker Pascal Bidegorry (France), twice Vendee Globe winner Michel Desjoyeaux (France), Volvo Ocean Race winning skipper Torben Grael (Brazil), and 49er and moth world champion and 29er world silver medallist Nathan Outteridge (Australia).

In the women's section, Davies was one of only 11 skippers of a 30-boat line-up to complete the gruelling Vendee Globe round-the-world race.

Davies was third to cross the finish line but missed out on the podium after rival Marc Guillemot was given time compensation for diverting to assist an injured competitor.

The 34-year-old Davies teamed up with rival Vendee skipper Dee Caffari in an all-female crew to claim the Round Britain and Ireland monohull record aboard Aviva in six days and 11 hours. 

Right on the nomination deadline of August 31, Lister realised her dream of becoming the first female disabled sailor to sail solo around Britain. 

Diagnosed with a degenerative disease at the age of 11, Lister was confined to a wheelchair at 15 and is now quadriplegic, only able to move her head, mouth and eyes. 

She sails her Artemis 20 using a 'sip and puff' system of tubes that, among other functions, sets the sails and steers the boat with her breath.

The remaining two female nominees are RS:X windsurfing World Cup winner Blanca Manchon (Spain) - who secured podium finishes at all her RS:X events during the nomination period - and Anna Tunnicliffe (USA), who won the World Cup laser radial series and took bronze at the World Championships before claiming another bronze at the ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final.

Sailing governing bodies from around the world will vote for the men's and women's awards, with the two winners unveiled onTuesday November 10 at the Busan Yacht Club in South Korea.

Eurosport