Keely Hodgkinson capped her golden year with a silver trophy as she became the fourth woman in a row to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
The 22-year-old memorably claimed her first global gold medal with victory in the 800 meters at the Paris Olympics in August. And after swapping her spikes for stilettos, she finished first again when she collected the iconic silver camera with four dome lenses at last night’s BBC bash in Salford.
Hodgkinson topped the public vote, ahead of 17-year-old darts sensation Luke Littler, who was also named Young Sports Personality of the Year, and England’s all-time leading Test run scorer Joe Root.
The Atherton athlete’s victory follows those of fellow women Mary Earps, Beth Mead and Emma Raducanu, while she becomes the first track and field star to triumph since Mo Farah seven years ago.
“I’m in shock,” admitted Hodgkinson, who also retained her European title in an unbeaten season. “This year has been absolutely incredible for me. I achieved everything I wanted on the outdoor track.
“If you look at the names of the winners at the bottom of the list you see Andy Murray, Lewis Hamilton and British icons, so it’s great to put my name up there.
‘As a little girl I dared to dream big. Just to be in this position now, with hopefully a long career and many more medals to come, is a real privilege. I’m looking forward to hopefully doing it all again.”
It was an evening of double celebration for Hodgkinson as her husband and wife coaching team of Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows collected the Coach of the Year award. Not only did they guide Hodgkinson to gold, but they also guided Georgia Bell to Olympic bronze in the 1500 meters and Lewis Davey to bronze in the men’s 4×400 meters.
“I’m actually more excited about my coach Trevor because I wouldn’t be where I am today without him and his guidance that I’ve had since I was 17,” Hodgkinson added.
Littler finished second to Hodgkinson in the top prize after his stunning breakout year, which saw him reach the final of the PDC World Darts Championship in January at the age of 16. On winning Young Sports Personality of the Year he said: ‘It shows how well I’ve done this year. I know how big the sport has become – and it just shows how much I’ve changed the sport.”
Wigan Warriors became the first rugby league side since St Helens in 2006 to be crowned Team of the Year after their historic season as they completed the quadruple of the World Club Challenge, Challenge Cup, League Leaders’ Shield and Grand Final.
Mark Cavendish received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Bradley Wiggins after breaking the record for stage wins in the Tour de France. Mondo Duplantis was named World Sport of the Year after defending his Olympic title in the pole vault this season and breaking his own world record three times.