Debbie Flood and Bryan Clay have been announced as the winners of the 2012 Eric Liddell Award.

Flood is the two-time British Olympic silver medallist and three-time world champion in rowing.

She co-founded Creativity in Sport, a community interest organisation giving at-risk youth opportunities to study positive life skills curriculum and work toward fitness teaching qualification.

Motivated by a desire to work with troubled youth, she took a year off from rowing in 2009 to qualify as a prison officer.

Commenting on the award, she said: "Eric Liddell was a great man of faith and an example of an ambassador of God both in and outside sport.

"God has given me the gifts and abilities that I have and I have tried to use them to the best of my ability while also sharing my faith through how I play my sport on and off the water."

Clay won Olympic silver and gold in the decathlon, and founded the Bryan Clay Foundation in 2005 to help children discover their gifts and develop their character.

"I remember watching Chariots of Fire when I was in ninth grade and what stood out the most to me was Eric Liddell's unwavering courage to stand up for what he believed to be right. I'm truly humbled and honoured to receive an award in his name," he said.

The award honours one male and female athlete for outstanding character at home, in the community, and on and off the field of competition.

They are inspired by Eric Liddell, a committed Christian who won gold in the 400m at the 1924 Paris Olympics.

His daughters, Heather Ingham and Patricia Russell, are joining the More Than Gold legacy breakfast on 10 August, when the awards will be presented.

The breakfast is being held at Central Hall in Westminster and will be attended by 400 guests, including former and current Olympians.

Special guests include Jerry Colangelo, chairman of USA Basketball, Madeline Manning Mims, Olympic gold medalist in track and field, and Gene Davis, Olympic bronze medallist in wrestling.

The legacy breakfast is hosted by Athletes in Action, an international sports outreach that uses the medium of sport to help people answer questions of faith. It is partnering with More Than Gold, the agency set up by all the UK’s main denominations to help churches make the most of the 2012 Games.