GET SET FOR A PERSONAL BEST
Nation’s favourite sport star crowned tonight
FOOTBALLER Harry Kane will be among the stars vying for the Sports Personality Of The Year Award this evening in a TV extravaganza.
Among the other favourites to lift the 2018 trophy are cyclist Geraint Thomas and Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton.
In a first, the nominees will be revealed live on the BBC show. JAMES MOORE reveals 12 amazing facts about the annual awards bash…
The first awards were held in 1954 at London’s Savoy Hotel. Runner Chris Chataway, who broke the world 5,000-metre record, pipped Roger Bannister, the first man to run a sub four-minute mile, to victory. Some 14,517 votes were sent in by postcard.
Tennis legend Andy Murray, right, has won the award a record three times
(2013, 2015, 2016), while boxer Henry Cooper (1967, 1970) and
F1 drivers Nigel Mansell (1986,
1992) and Damon Hill (1994,
1996) have two victories each.
Sir Mo Farah won last year, with athletes notching up the most victories – 18. Five footballers have won, including Bobby Moore in 1966 and David Beckham in 2001. Only one snooker player has won, Steve Davis in 1988, and one jockey, Tony McCoy in 2010. The only pair to win the main award are ice skaters Jayne Torvill and Cristopher Dean in 1984. Two Royals won – Princess Anne in 1971 and Zara Phillips in 2006, both for eventing.
The oldest winner was Welsh golfer Dai Rees, at 44, in 1957. The youngest was Scots swimmer Ian Black, at 17, in 1958.
There have been 48 English winners, just five from Scotland, four from Wales and two from Northern Ireland. Just 13 have been women, including athletes Kelly Holmes and Paula Radcliffe.
In 1991 angler Bob Nudd got the most votes but they were deemed to have broken rules after a campaign by the Angling Times. Long-distance runner Liz McColgan won instead. The silver-plated trophy, in the shape of a TV camera, cost £1,000 and has the winners’ names engraved on it. Last year more than half a million votes were cast.
Other awards have included Manager of the Year, won by Leeds United gaffer Don Revie in 1969. David Walliams, below, won a Special Achievement Award in 2006 after raising £1million for Sport Relief swimming the English Channel.
In 1999 boxer Muhammad Ali won Sports Personality of the Century.
While this year’s bookies’ favourite is England World Cup star Harry Kane, boxer Tyson Fury is also in contention, with snooker’s Ronnie O’Sullivan an outside chance. Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros, right, won the Lifetime Achievement Award – twice! Other winners include footballer George Best and athlete Jessica Ennis-Hill. This year other awards include Greatest Sporting Moment and World Sport Star of the Year.
More than eight million viewers are expected to tune in to the awards presented by Gabby Logan, Clare Balding and Gary Lineker at Birmingham’s Genting Arena in front of an audience of 12,000. David Baddiel and Frank Skinner are due to perform their hit Three Lions on the show.