Not happy with BBC’s Sports Personality of the year
ALTHOUGH a very popular annual programme on BBC TV it’s not one which fills me with much enthusiasm for I feel far too much controversy surrounds the choice of winner
My dissatisfaction came about very much after it was reduced to a more or less two women affair in 2006, that is between Zara Philips, daughter of Princess Anne, and gymnast Beth Tweddle; the former taking the honours. Ironically Zara’s mother had won the same 35 years previous. And considering the number of royals in sport generally, a truly remarkable achievement; in fact most extraordinary in the extreme.
Zara Philips, to her credit, had won the European Eventing Championship though equestrian sports generally has always been associated with an elite, more especially considering the finances involved: rather like car racing. By contrast, however, gymnastics, the sport of Beth Tweddle, is certainly more egalitarian, encompassing all social classes: football and cycling being of similar vein. Further, although being well established as a leading world gymnast at the time in question, indeed world champion on uneven bars, it was done against a backcloth of world domination in the sport for so long of such countries as Russia and China. Beth has in fact been the first female gymnast from Great Britain to go on and win a medal at both the European and world championships as well as the Olympic Games. In fact in 2010 Beth yet again became world champion on uneven bars, thus continuing to delight the “multitude” of her young fans in Britain; the majority actually being active in the sport.
Now this year we note that Chris Froome has finally made it to the last twelve though I’m somewhat perplexed by the fact that he has had to win The Tour de France four times to gain. any significant recognition regarding the BBC TVs competition. Bradley Wiggins, as if you didn’t need reminding of such an auspicious occasion, did it once and was subsequently knighted.
It is indeed a very confusing picture though hardly surprising since it emanates from a BBC that comes in for constant criticism for the way that it operates since after all it is supposed to be answerable to the licence payer. Personally I think there are so many way beyond pensionable age that it needs a radical clear out and an infusion of younger blood. David Abbott Stoke Golding