Although he didn’t ultimately win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, Olympic champion Adam Peaty finished third in the voting for the prestigious award.
Peaty, along with diver Tom Daley, was shortlisted for the annual recognition after having successfully defended his 100m breaststroke Olympic gold this summer at the Tokyo Games. Peaty was also a critical member of the World Record-setting mixed medley relay.
For his part, Daley finished 2nd in the award voting as a nod to having earned a maiden Olympic title alongside Matty lee in the mens’ 10m synchro in Tokyo before he also clinched the men’s 10m platform bronze.
Going back to Peaty, the 26-year-old World Record holder represents the first British Swimming Athlete to have finished among the top 3 since 2008. In that edition, freestyle ace Rebecca Adlington made the grade.
On the paralympic front, Ellie Challis was included in the Young Sports Personality of the Year top three after becoming Paralympics GB’s youngest competitor and youngest medallist in Tokyo, when she won S3 50m Backstroke silver.
The award was ultimately won by US Open tennis champion Emma Raducanu. The 19-year old made her WTA debut in June 2021. She was a wildcard for the Wimbeldon tennis tournament, ranked outside of the top 300, and reached the fourth round of her first major tournament.
Two months later, at the US Open in New York, she became the first player in the Open Era (since 1968) to win that tournament by playing her way through the pre-tournament qualifying round, rather than qualifying by virtue of her world ranking, as a wildcard, or via exemption.
Other nominees of the year include boxer Tyson Fury, soccer player Raheem Sterling, and para-cyclist Sarah Storey.
Other Honorees:
- Coach of the Year – Gareth Southgate, head coach of England National Football Team
- Helen Rollason Award (outstanding achievement in the face of diversity) – Jen Beattie, Scotland soccer player who continued to play after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
- Lifetime Achivement Award – Simone Biles, American gymnast
- World Sport Star of the Year – Rachael Blackmore, horse racing jockey
- Sports Team of the Year – England National Football Team
- Young Sports Personality of the Year – Sky Brown, skateboarding
- Unsung Hero Award – Sam Barlow, who founded a fitness club for those experiencing loss after her husband died of cancer.
So who won? I am confused!
Emma Raducanu won
Sports Personality of the year is quite corrupt given BBC ‘Professionals’ do the voting so the Football team + manager won best team and manager when they came 2nd where as lots of world champions + british swimming (who were shortlisted) lost to public confusion and questions have come from these.
For individual Sports Personality of the year, 6 athletes are shortlisted by the professionals and the public vote for the winner. The problem is, the non nationalist-favourites sports (Anything outside Football, Cricket or Tennis + maybe cycling) essentially have no chance of winning as everyone over 30 who love these core sports and grew up with them will only vote for them. This year Emma Radacanu won 1 Tennis… Read more »
Raducanu was a very deserving winner. What she did at Flushing Meadows was unfathomable. One of the most surprising and impressive feats in the history of British sport. No shame in finishing 2nd & 3rd to Emma.
I agree. To top that would have taken a really gargantuan effort at the Olympics – like maybe Peaty showing up and winning the 200 breast.
Yes – Peaty would have needed to be a multi individual medalist to break away from the other Olympic golds and challenge Emma
This isn’t really true when you look at winners over the last 20 years.
Since 2000, it’s been a footballer twice and a cricketer twice.
Cyclists have done well during a golden period for British cycling where they’ve won it 4 times – albeit in most cases pretty clearly (most golds in 2008 edging out Adlington, first male WC in modern era and first TdF winner plus Olympic gold).
Tennis probably has the most obvious criteria for winning – whereby it seems a grand slam (especially Wimbledon) trumps most things. F1 WC is probably next best as a prop up in a year where something else doesn’t trump other things.
Boxing, eventing, horse racing and athletics have all won… Read more »
Although he didn’t win, Tyson Fury is probably living his best life.