AWARDS BASKETBALL
ENGLAND striker Beth Mead was crowned Sports Personality of the Year last night. The 27- year- old Arsenal player, who is sidelined by an anterior cruciate ligament injury, was the star of England’s success at the Euros, scoring six goals to secure the Golden Boot and also being chosen as UEFA’s player of the tournament.
Mead won the public poll ahead of England Test cricket captain Ben Stokes and Olympic curling champion Eve Muirhead. The other nominees were gymnast Jessica Gadirova, 1500 metres world champion Jake Wightman and seven- time world snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Mead’s victory completed a hat- trick of awards for the Lionesses, as the squad were voted Team of the Year for their Euros triumph with Dutch coach Sarina Wiegman collecting the Coach of the Year award.
Gadirova won the BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year, while former Leeds Rhinos rugby league star Rob Burrow won the Helen Rollason Award for his efforts in raising awareness of motor neurone disease. He was diagnosed with the lifelimiting and incurable condition in 2019.
The award comes less than a month after former Scotland rugby union star Doddie Weir, a friend of Burrow’s and the winner of this award in 2019, died after his own battle with MND. Burrow was joined on stage by former Leeds team- mate Kevin Sinfield, who was presented with a special award by Weir’s son Hamish in recognition of his fund- raising to support MND research and awareness. Sinfield raised more than £ 7 million by running seven marathons in seven days in 2020 and ran a further 300 miles from Edinburgh to Manchester to raise even more last month.
CALEDONIA GLADIATORS missed out on a trip to the BBL Cup final after crashing 89- 68 to Leicester Riders in the semi- final last night.
The Scots battled back gamely from a disastrous start and ice cold shooting that saw them trail 30- 13 in the first quarter. Falling 20 behind in the second, a 17- 4 run handed Gareth Murray’s men with a slim chance of rebounding. But Caledonia could come no closer than 63- 56 in the third and then collapsed in the fourth as the Cup holders set up a showdown with London Lions at Arena Birmingham on January 29.