Sports Personality Of The Year

As Gabby Logan, Gary Lineker and Clare Balding (below) prepare to crown the BBC Sports Personality Of The Year (7pm, BBC1), we look at numbers relating to the ceremony…

14,517 The number of public votes that were cast, by postcard, in 1954 – the award’s inaugural year, when it was just a segment in the magazine show Sportsview. Chris Chataway was the surprise victor, pipping fellow athlete Roger Bannister at the post. 44 The age of Welsh golfer Dai Rees when he won in 1957, making him the oldest recipient to date. The following year, Scottish swimmer Ian Black, 17, became the youngest. 1962 The year the swimmer Anita Lonsbrough became the first of the 13 women to win the award so far.

3 The number of times tennis player Andy Murray has been crowned champion, a record. Boxer Henry Cooper and motor racing drivers Damon Hill and Nigel Mansell are the only other people to have won it more than once. 1971 The year Princess Anne won the award for eventing. Her daughter, Zara Phillips, went on to win in 2006, also for eventing, making them the only award winners to be members of the same family. 7 The number of awards that will be presented tonight, including a new award for the year’s best sporting moment.