Tracy Edwards declared bankrupt

Miss Edwards, who is 43 today, did not attend the 10-minute hearing at the London Bankruptcy Court and was not represented by lawyers.

Mrs Registrar Derrett made the order after ruling that all the necessary papers were in order.

The bankruptcy petition for about £60,000 was brought by Gregory Browne, the former financial director of Miss Edwards' company, Quest, who was dismissed last year.

Miss Edwards, who has been reported as having personal debts of £8 million, expects to lose the farmhouse she shares in Yattendon, near Reading, Berkshire, with her mother Patricia and five-year-old daughter, Mackenna.

The former sportswoman of the year received an MBE in 1990 after skippering the first all-female round the world crew.