Lleyton Hewitt was crowned Australia's male athlete of the year on Wednesday while Olympic champion aerial skier Alisa Camplin and squash world champion Sarah Fitz-Gerald shared the women's award.

World number one tennis player Hewitt edged out swimmer Ian Thorpe for the men's accolade.

Australia's cricketers were named the country's best international sporting team after another year of dominance at Test and one-day level while Brisbane won the best national team award after winning a second successive Australian Football League premiership in 2002.

Former marathon world champion Robert de Castella was re-presented with the six awards he won in the 1980s after his original trophies were destroyed along with his home in the Canberra bushfires earlier this year.

The Sports Industry Australia awards in Melbourne also honoured Australia Rugby Union managing director John O'Neill for his role in convincing the International Rugby Board that Australia were capable of acting as sole hosts for the 2003 Rugby World Cup, which starts in October.