HE WAS at the managerial helm as the British sailing team celebrated its most successful performance at the Olympic Games since 2008.

Mark Robinson, Olympic performance manager at the Hamble-based Royal Yachting Association, is among the inspirational Hampshire residents recognised in the New Year Honours, which were published last night.

Daily Echo: Mark Robinson, Olympic Performance Manager at the Royal Yachting Association, is made an MBE for services to sailing.

Mr Robinson, 47, becomes an MBE for services to sailing.

It follows the team's outstanding performance at the Tokyo Olympics, where they finished ahead of their rivals by winning five medals including three golds - the highest British tally in the sport since the Beijing Games.

Mr Robinson faced colossal challenges created by the pandemic, which delayed the Tokyo event - due to have been held in 2020 - as well as disrupting the athletes' training routines.

He marshalled the sailors and adapted the team’s logistics. Giles Scott clinched his second Olympic title and Hannah Mills, formerly of Lymington, became the most successful female sailor in Olympic history. Hannah becomes an OBE.

Aaron Phipps, 38, of Totton, is also made an MBE after helping the British wheelchair rugby team to win gold at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

Daily Echo: Wheelchair rugby star Aaron Phipps is made an MBE for services to the sport.

Speaking at the time he said: "I thought we could win a medal but to be here looking down at a gold one, that's beyond my wildest dreams."

Fellow Paralympian and former Strictly Come Dancing contestant Lauren Steadman becomes an MBE for services to triathlon.

Lauren, 28, of Portsmouth, was also among the victors at the Tokyo Paralympics. She won her first gold medal, having taken silver at the Rio Games in 2016.

Daily Echo: Lauren Steadman, right, with fellow athlete Claire Cashmore. Lauren becomes an MBE.

Lauren was a 15-year-old swimmer when she made her Paralympic debut in 2008. She switched to triathlon three years later and has enjoyed enormous success, winning major titles in 2018, 2019 and 2021.

In addition to her Paralympic gold, she has been crowned world champion three times and continues to be the reigning ETU European Champion after seven consecutive victories.

Fareham-based Stephen Park, British Cycling performance director, is made an OBE for services to the sport.

Nick Giles, managing director of Ordnance Survey Leisure in Southampton, also becomes an OBE.

Daily Echo: Nick Giles.

He said: "It's really difficult to put into words how humbling it feels to receive this award.

"I have always had a love for the outdoors and since joining Ordnance Survey in 2012 I have worked with an excellent team striving to help more people to get outside more often."

Romsey resident Christine Chisholm, 73, becomes an MBE for services to philanthropy and charitable causes.

Daily Echo: Christine Chisholm.

In the early 1980s she got involved with the Across Trust, which provides pilgrimages to Lourdes and Rome for the sick and disabled.

Later she became a founder trustee of the Jumbulance Travel Trust. Her fundraising activities helped provide specialist vehicles for a facility that runs holidays for people with disabilities or life-limiting illnesses.

Four Hampshire residents employed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have been recognised for their work during the pandemic.

Bursledon resident Alex Lambert, deputy director, Covid infection survey operations, is awarded the OBE for services to statistics and public health.

Daily Echo: Alex Lambert of the Office for National Statistics.

Under his leadership the ONS launched the nationwide Coronavirus Infection Survey. To date, the survey has taken seven million swab tests and recorded 1.5 million blood tests across. The data it produced has shaped national policy and saved lives.

Fareham resident Owen Abbott, head of census and population statistics, is made an OBE for services to population statistics and the census.

For the 2021 census he delivered an "ambitious and robust" programme that was able to adapt to changing circumstances as the pandemic unfolded.

Swanwick resident Henrie Brown, business operations lead, becomes an OBE for services to the delivery and transformation of the census over 40 years.

An ONS spokesperson said: "Henrie’s first census was in 1981, when she played an important part in helping the programme take its first steps into the digital age.

"Since then she has responded to demands for new levels of innovation, playing a key role in the design and operation of large and complex public support and print services."

Fareham resident Arron Maspero, programme delivery manager, census field service, is a made an MBE for services to the 2021 census.

Daily Echo: Arron Maspero of the Office for National Statistics.

"Through his dedication and commitment, the 35,000-strong force had the tools to target the widest possible range of people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, making this a truly representative census," said the spokesperson.

Ian Lloyd, 48, strategic manager of Isle of Wight Council, is awarded the BEM for services to the local community during the pandemic.

Mr Lloyd launched a helpline and 27 hubs which provided tailored support to more than 10,500 people who were shielding. He played a key role in identifying the best way to support harder to reach and sometimes marginalised members of society.

Former parish councillor Diane Fox, 84, of Seaview, Isle of Wight, is also awarded the BEM for services to the community.

She chaired the local planning committee and oversaw planning-related decisions, described as a tension-prone area of village life "to which she brought her customary sensitivity and light touch".

Five years ago she was part of the team who established an award-winning community shop in Seaview.

Over the past year she has had to self-isolate as a result of her age but has continued to run the shop, guiding staff, lead management meetings remotely via Zoom and maintaining a vital lifeline for the community.

Lt Cdr Nigel Huxtable, 67, of Southsea, is awarded the BEM for services to Royal Navy veterans.

He retired from the Royal Naval Association (RNA) in September after what were described as 13 years of outstanding service to the organisation and its 12,000 members.

Other people honoured include Timothy Jackson, former principal of Sparsholt College, and Fareham-based Joanna Rowland, director general of HM Revenue and Customs.

Hampshire-born Katie Piper, 38, who was badly injured in an acid attack in 2008, is made an OBE after becoming an author and broadcaster.