VIDEO: Queen's tribute to our golden stars

Hoy, the flying Scotsman who won three golds to help Britain to its best Olympic medal haul since 1908, receives his knighthood in the New Year honours list today.

On a remarkable day of double celebration for his family, his mother Carol, 61, a retired nurse, is awarded an MBE for her work on sleep-related illnesses at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh.

Her own mother was awarded an MBE in 1989 for her work as chairman of the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Hoy, who became the first Briton in 100 years to win three golds at a single Olympics, was overwhelmed by his knighthood. “To become a knight from riding your bike, it’s mad. But it is, genuinely, just an amazing honour,” he said.

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He was just as pleased for his mother. Asked if they would go to Buckingham Palace on the same day, the 32-year-old Edinburgh-born cyclist said: “I don’t know how it’ll work.

“I wouldn’t want her day to be overshadowed by me but it would be nice if we were both there together.”

The award caps an astonishing year for Hoy, who now lives in Salford, Greater Manchester. He was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year earlier this month.

His fellow Team GB cyclists are also recognised for their dominance at the 2008 Olympics, where seven out of the 10 track events were won by British riders.

CBEs go to Bradley Wiggins, 28, who took home two golds from Beijing, and British cycling performance director David Brailsford. There are MBEs for gold medal-winning cyclists Ed Clancy, 23, Geraint Thomas, 22, Jason Kenny, 20, Jamie Staff, 35, and Paul Manning, 34.

Britain’s three female Olympic champion cyclists also get MBEs. They are Nicole Cooke, 25, who won Team GB’s first gold in Beijing in the women’s road race, Victoria Pendleton, 28, and Rebecca Romero, 28.

Mr Brailsford said: “Everybody in our team dedicated their lives to the pursuit of a dream – to win a gold medal. When they do get recognised in this way it is breathtaking and a fantastic honour.”

Other Olympians to receive honours include swimmer Rebecca Adlington 19, from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The teenager, who captured the hearts of the British public after coming from nowhere to win two golds in the 400m freestyle and 800m freestyle events, gets an OBE.

“It is fantastic to be recognised in the New Year honours list. There are so many amazing names on the list, it’s something I’ll treasure for the rest of my life,” she said.

Every Olympic athlete who won gold and all Paralympians who won two or more golds receive honours today.

Ben Ainslie, 31, who is Britain’s most successful Olympic sailor after winning a gold medal in each of the last three Games, gets a CBE.

The same honour goes to David Tanner, performance director of the GB rowing team.

Among the Paralympians is 14-yearold Eleanor Simmonds, who receives an MBE. The swimming sensation from Swansea, who was born with dwarfism, becomes the youngest person ever to receive an honour following her performance in Beijing.

Earlier this month she was voted BBC Young Sports Personalty of the Year. She was just 13 when she achieved two gold medals in the pool, becoming the youngest ever Briton to top the podium at the Paralympics.

She said: “The last three months have been a whirlwind and, while feeling as though I am living a fairy tale, I want to work hard to keep my feet on the ground and refocus my efforts on my training and my schoolwork so that by 2012 I can hopefully repay in part the wonderful accolades and affection that I have received, for which I will always remains unendingly grateful, no matter what the future holds.”

Reading Football Club chairman John Madejski is knighted for his charity work. MBEs go to child protection campaigner Sara Payne, whose eight-yearold daughter Sarah was murdered in 2000, and to six heroes from the July 7,