It’s that time of year again Sports Personality is on the horizon. An award that sportspeople really do appreciate because it is voted for by the public. The personality of the person is still important and if anyone showed that it was Bradley Wiggins last year. Cycling is a minority sport still in the UK but his cheeky chappy attitude was a big factor in that success. Not many have a personality like Wiggins, but all the contenders have as good a sporting appetite.
On December 15th the top ten will be whittled down to a top three and the bookies already have Andy Murray as the runaway favourite. The young Scot did what no other British player could do and ended the 77 year wait for a British Wimbledon Champion. The pressure would have been unbelievable and he managed it brilliantly, and the moment he won is one of the moments of the year. However, just a minor criticism of Murray, he has only won one more major, it is essentially the same as his performance last year, when he won the US Open. He has not been consistent all year round, when other members of this list certainly have.
Leigh Halfpenny for example was player of the tournament in the Six Nations back in February, player of the series on the Summer Lions tour, and outstanding once again in the autumn for Wales. He has been the most consistent player in world rugby, and the only British player to be nominated for world player of the year. Surely playing well all year round is what counts for this competition and the boy from Gorseinon has certainly done that.
If Leigh has performed over the course of the last year the next man has performed over an entire career. AP McCoy became the first jump jockey ever to ride 4,000 winners, to put that in context it is almost 1,500 more that the next most successful rider. McCoy has already won sports personality once back in 2010, so the British public clearly like him, will he double his tally in December.
Whilst McCoy has had a whole career to achieve sporting success this young lady has only just started her career. Hannah Cockroft, followed up Paralympic success with the sprint double of T34 100m and 200m titles at the IPC World Athletics Championships this year in Lyon. An outside contender for this year’s award, but if she continues with the form she has been showing she will be hard to rule out in a few years’ time.
On to another athlete who took his 2012 Olympic form into 2013, Mo Farah. The middle-distance athlete became only the second man in history to achieve the ‘double-double’, holding the Olympic and World titles for the 5,000 and 10,000 metres. It has been another brilliant year for Mo Farah and most races he has dominated from the off. Something that plays into his hands in this competition is that he is well liked by most people. The ‘Mobot’ for example caught the attention of the nation and is something that could swing more votes his way on the night.
The world athletic championships were a good event for the British on the whole, and Christina Ohuruogu became the first British athlete to win two world championship titles in the 400 metres. Another brilliant year for the athlete who now holds the British 400 metre record that had stood for 29 years.
Records tumbled in all sports in 2013, in Golf; Justin Rose became this first Englishman in 43 years to win the US Open. The event took him to a career high of third in the overall world rankings and going into 2013 it looks like Justin Rose is only going to win more majors now that he has got his first.
Cricketer Ian Bell also enjoyed a successful summer, beating the Australians in the Ashes. In the 3-0 victory Bell was named man of the series. He also hit 562 runs over the course of the series, becoming only the fifth Englishman to score three consecutive centuries in Ashes tests. It was a phenomenal performance by Ian Bell who helped England to a dominant victory.
Not many people have achieved as much as Sir Ben Ainslie this year, for a start not many have been knighted. He also completed a childhood dream and was part of a winning America’s Cup team. Team Oracle USA had been trailing 8-1 to Team New Zealand before they drafted in Ainslie as team tactician. He would then lead them to eight wins on the bounce to take the Cup winning 9-8, that’s what I call an impact.
The last contender has achieved what last year’s winner achieved in winning le Tour de France. Chris Froome and Team Sky dominated the tour throughout July, winning three stages and spending 13 days in the leader’s jersey. He won four more tours this year in the build up to le Tour de France. At 28 he is just hitting his peak and could quite easily win le Tour again, so if he doesn’t win sports personality this year don’t be surprised to see him back on the list this time next year.
It has been another year of outstanding achievements by British sportspeople but which one will get the top prize, it’s up to you to vote on December 15th and have your say.
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