Schneiderheinze, a gold medallist at this year’s World Championships in Innsbruck in Austria along with brakewoman Annika Drazek, was given the prize by Germany Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) President Alfons Hörmann.

The honour, named after the German Sports High Performance Centre in Kienbaum near Berlin, has been awarded by the DOSB since 2012.

It rewards those German competitors who represent the Olympic values of fair play, respect and teamwork.

“It really makes me proud, what this prize represents,” the 38-year-old, who won her sole Olympic crown to date at Turin 2006, wrote on her Facebook page.

Schneiderheinze began her career as a push athlete and partnered pilot Sandra Kiriasis to World Championships gold in 2005 and the Olympic title the following year.

She then switched to the pilot seat and was second in the overall FIBT – which is now the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) – World Cup season in 2012.

The German is also a two-time European champion, clinching gold in 2015 and earlier this year in St Moritz, which has hosted the Winter Olympic Games twice.

Schneiderheinze follows in the footsteps of the likes of Olympic track cycling gold medallist Kristina Vogel, who is also a multiple World Champion, in being chosen for the Kienbaum Award.

Vogel was given the prize in 2013, a year after she was part of the German team which won the team sprint event at London 2012.

Hammer thrower Betty Heidler, a bronze medallist in London 2012, was one of the inaugural recipients of the Kienbaum Award four years’ ago.