Six Nominees Unveiled for 2024 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award

A shortlist comprising six contenders has been revealed for the 2024 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award. The nominees include footballer Jude Bellingham, runner Keely Hodgkinson, darts player Luke Littler, cricketer Joe Root, Para-cyclist Sarah Storey, and triathlete Alex Yee. Voting will occur during the live broadcast on BBC One and the BBC iPlayer on Tuesday, 17 December. The program, hosted by Gabby Logan, Alex Scott, and Clare Balding, and transmitted live from MediaCityUK in Salford, will commemorate a year of remarkable sporting achievements. Alex Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport, stated: “It’s a fantastic shortlist. All six have kept us on the edge of our seats this year, showing us how sensational they are.” He further added, “I’m looking forward to reliving each of their successes on the night and finding out who audiences want to be crowned BBC Sport Personality of the Year 2024.” The public will be able to cast votes by phone or online on the night for the main award, with comprehensive details to be announced during the show. Other accolades slated for announcement include Young Sports Personality of the Year, Team and Coach of the Year, Unsung Hero, and the Helen Rollason Award. The Lifetime Achievement and World Sport Star awards are also scheduled for presentation. Jude Bellingham, 21, Football: In his inaugural season at the Bernabeu, Bellingham was instrumental in Real Madrid’s victories in La Liga and the Champions League, scoring an impressive 23 goals across all competitions. The midfielder also netted twice for England on their path to the Euro 2024 final, including a spectacular overhead kick against Slovakia. These accomplishments led to him finishing third in the Ballon d’Or voting, the highest placement for an Englishman since Frank Lampard’s second-place finish in 2005. He was recognized as La Liga player of the season and Champions League young player of the season, in addition to receiving the Laureus world breakthrough of the year award. A visual summary of Bellingham’s year. Keely Hodgkinson, 22, Athletics: Hodgkinson triumphantly ended her pursuit of a major global title by securing 800m gold at the Paris Olympics. After a series of close calls, including silver medals at the Tokyo Games and the previous two World Championships, she achieved a dominant victory at the Stade de France. This marked Team GB’s first Olympic track title since Mo Farah’s 5,000m and 10,000m double in Rio in 2016, making Hodgkinson only the 10th British woman to win an athletics gold at an Olympics. Earlier in the year, she successfully defended her 800m title at the European Championships. A visual summary of Hodgkinson’s year. Luke Littler, 17, Darts: Littler rapidly achieved stardom through an exceptional run to the PDC World Championship final. Just months after completing his GCSEs, and ranked 164th globally, the then 16-year-old broke numerous records en route to reaching the final. He has since claimed 10 trophies, including becoming the youngest winner of a major PDC tournament with his victory in the Premier League Darts, and also triumphed at the prestigious Grand Slam of Darts. His earnings for the year have surpassed £1m, and he is also on course to break the record for the most 180s in a season. A visual summary of Littler’s year. Joe Root, 33, Cricket: Root made history in October by becoming England’s record Test run scorer, surpassing Sir Alastair Cook’s total of 12,472 runs, during a brilliant career-best score of 262 against Pakistan. In that same Test, he and Harry Brook established an England record partnership of 454. Furthermore, in August’s second Test against Sri Lanka, Root also exceeded Cook’s record for the most Test centuries by an Englishman. He now ranks fifth on the all-time list of Test run scorers and became the first Englishman to accumulate over 20,000 international runs across all formats. As of the time of writing, Root had scored the most Test runs of any player in 2024. A visual summary of Root’s year. Sarah Storey, 47, Para-cycling: Britain’s most successful Paralympian augmented her remarkable collection with two additional gold medals, winning the C4-C5 road race and C5 road time trial at the Paris Games. These achievements extended her British record tally of Paralympic career medals to 30, 19 of which are golds, and occurred 32 years after her initial win in Para-swimming in 1992. Storey’s success continued at the Road and Para-cycling World Championships, where she again secured both the C4-C5 road race and C5 road time trial titles for an extraordinary 10th time, increasing her total world golds to 39. A visual summary of Storey’s year. Alex Yee, 26, Triathlon: Yee experienced an exceptional 2024, achieving the distinction of being crowned both Olympic and world champion. In Paris, he executed a stunning and memorable finish to overtake New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde in the concluding stages of the run, securing his inaugural individual Olympic gold. He also contributed to the Great Britain team that earned a bronze medal in the mixed relay. Yee’s commanding performance extended to the World Triathlon Series, with victories in Cagliari and Weihai helping him clinch the first world title of his career after a succession of near-misses in previous years. A visual summary of Yee’s year. A related video is currently unavailable. An interactive segment challenges viewers to recall previous Sports Personality of the Year winners. The judging panel for this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year comprised individuals from the realms of sport, broadcasting, and journalism. It included Dame Laura Kenny, a five-time Olympic cycling champion; Iwan Thomas, a former runner; Paralympian Ade Adepitan; Nedum Onuoha, a former Manchester City defender; and Rory Best, an Ireland rugby veteran. Broadcaster Eilidh Barbour was joined by sports journalists Laura Williamson (The Athletic) and Eleanor Crooks (PA Media), as well as Stephanie Hilborne, CEO of Women in Sport. Representing the BBC were Alex Kay-Jelski, director of sport; Philip Bernie, head of sport content; and Gabby Cook, executive producer. Sandi Toksvig will be joined by Gyles Brandreth, Lulu, Emmanuel Sonubi, and Alan Davies. Opportunities to sing along to music from Queen, Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi, Katy Perry, and other artists will be available. Ben Fogle and Kate Humble are returning for the festivities at Longleat Safari Park. Topics ranging from microplastics in the air, soil, and waterways to the volume of food waste during this period will be explored. Copyright © 2024 BBC. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding their external linking policy is available.