SO, WHO SHOULD WIN SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR?
DINA ASHER-SMITH
AS Athletics Correspondent, I’m predictably backing the athlete. Her achievements this year deserve a recap — three European titles, Commonwealth gold and bronze, two world-leading times and a sense that she is only getting started. Asher-Smith heads into the second half of the Olympic cycle looking a genuine contender for sprinting gold. She is the first to recognise that her breakthrough achievements came during a season that was not prioritised by many nations outside Europe, but the challenge now will be withstanding the enormous pressure that comes with inflated expectations.
RIATH AL-SAMARRAI
GERAINT THOMAS
WITH all due respect to Lewis Hamilton, whose achievements have been remarkable and whose grip on his sport is vice-like, I am opting for the winner of the Tour de France. It is, I believe, the greatest physical challenge that a sportsman can undertake and to win it in the style he did makes Geraint Thomas the standout performer of the calendar year.
DOMINIC KING
HARRY KANE
THERE were especially brilliant efforts this year from Geraint Thomas and Lewis Hamilton, although the lack of a level playing field in the latter’s sport always undermines his case. It should be one of those rare years when the award goes to a footballer. During a year of national division in wider matters, Harry Kane was a unifying figure, somebody everyone could get behind, perhaps even if you were not English. Aside from being prolific in the most important sport of all, he proved a great ambassador. In 2018, the admirable demeanour and broad appeal of such an individual was more welcome than ever.
MIKE DICKSON
ALASTAIR COOK
HE won’t win because cricketers hardly ever do, but this award would certainly be a fitting way to salute the brilliant career of the humble emperor of his sport, at the end of a year when he came up with the perfect farewell. It’s the preserve of the greats to bow out with everyone screaming for more, and that’s exactly what the master batsman did following his 33rd Test hundred against India. The future of Test cricket might be uncertain, but here was a blissful occasion to underline why we must hope for its salvation.
DEREK LAWRENSON