Road world champion and World Cup winner Lizzie Armitstead and Tour de France champion Chris Froome have both made the short list for this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/sports-personality/34845334
It’s a contest in which cyclists – helped perhaps most recently by savvy campaigns by fans on social media – have punched above their weight in recent years.
Armitstead, who also won the British road title, has enjoyed the season of her career – despite being aged just 26.
“A dream come true” – watch Lizzie Armitstead win the world championship
The last British rider, male or female, to win the rainbow jersey on the road before her was Mark Cavendish in 2011 – and he went on to take the Sports Personality award, too.
Froome, 30, meanwhile, became the first British rider to win the Tour de France twice.
Froome wants more Tour de France success
In 2012, he was runner-up to Sir Bradley Wiggins at the Tour de France, and also took bronze behind him in the time trial at the London Olympic Games.
Wiggins was named Sports Personality that year, and is the last cyclist to win it.
The other cyclists to have triumphed are Tom Simpson in 1965 – the year he became road world champion – and Sir Chris Hoy in 2008, when he won three gold medals at the Beijing Olympics.
“Speechless” Cav wins BBC Sports Personality
Lucy Bronze – Manchester City and England footballer who helped her country to third place at the World Cup.
Jessica Ennis-Hill – Olympic heptathlon champion, who won the world title in Beijing this year.
Mo Farah – Retained his 5,000m and 10,000m titles in Beijing, and is also reigning Olympic champion in both events.
Tyson Fury – Beat Wladimir Klitschko in Dusseldordf on Saturday to become Britain’s seventh ever heavyweight world champion in boxing.
Lewis Hamilton – Won his third Formula 1 world title to join Sir Jackie Stewart as the country’s most successful driver.
Andy Murray – Spearheaded Great Britain’s first Davis Cup victory in 79 years this weekend against Belgium in Ghent (a city most of us would associate with cycling).
Adam Peaty – Became the first swimmer ever to win the 50m and 100m double at the world championships and also took gold in the mixed 4x100m medley relay.
Greg Rutherford – Is now world, Olympic, European and Commonwealth champion at the long jump, putting him alongside fellow athletes Daley Thompson, Linford Christie, Sally Gunnell and Jonathan Edwards as holders of all four titles in their event.
Kevin Sinfield – The rugby league legend led Leeds Rhino to the treble in his final season after two decades with the club.
Max Whitlock – The first ever British male gymnast to win world championship gold, taking the pommel horse event by just 0.01 points from team-mate Louis Smith.
The winner will be decided by public vote during the show on the evening of 20 December at the SSE Arena in Belfast.
13 thoughts on “Lizzie Armitstead and Chris Froome make BBC Sports Personality shortlist”
Mo Farah’s quote on the BBC
Mo Farah’s quote on the BBC page sort of sums up athletics quite well “my hammy (hamstring) was playing up a bit, but the medical team helped me through it.” Medical team hurrumph hurrumph
fatbeggaronabike wrote:
Given that Mo and I are both Arsenal fans, maybe he should get his medics down the Emirates PDQ 😉
Will vote for and hope that
Will vote for and hope that Lizzie Armistead wins.
Definitely been her year with a much deserved world road title after being in the running to win it previously.
Tough competition this year though with a very strong list.
Can’t see a win for cycling
Can’t see a win for cycling this year. Vote split across Lizzie & Chris (as is the athletics vote). Don’t follow F1 and I know there have been rumblings but I wouldn’t be surprised of a win by boredom boy Hamilton or possibly Murray.
Lizzie A really deserves it IMHO, sorry Froomedog.
No Nigel Owens?
No Nigel Owens?
He won’t come close to
He won’t come close to winning, but my vote will go to Kevin Sinfield. I imagine that Lewis Hamilton will win.
I perhaps shouldn’t say this
I perhaps shouldn’t say this on this website but in my view Mo Farah most deserves to win. The others have done amazing things – far more than expected from a Brit – but in a global context thay haven’t achieved anything which others (from elsewhere) haven’t. Except Mo Farah. Sadly the most deserving rarely wins.
The trouble with SPOTY is
The trouble with SPOTY is that it doesn’t really have any frame of reference and it is not easy making comparisons between sports and different sporting disciplines athletes compete in. As a cyclist,I think both Lizzie and Chris have been awesome, and I think it is hard to argue that the Tour has to be the toughest sporting endurance test on the planet.
However, it has to be Kevin Sinfield (Or Sir Kev as he is known in Leeds) because it is impossible to argue that, amongst all the nominees this year, he is and has been the most successful sports-person. A nomination for Rugby League (Kevin is the first EVER) is long overdue and he is the most decorated player and more importantly captain in British Rugby (including Union) of the last 20 years. While every other nominee has had a great year, Kevin has had his greatest year of the last 11 awesome years as Captain of the treble winning Leeds Rhinos… you can’t get better than playing in and captaining your side to every trophy available in the game!
JonnyStone wrote:
First bit yes but second bit not really. No world championship gong unlike Johnson, Wilkinson and Dallaglio who also won multiple European (club/country) and national titles too versus far tougher and more widespread opposition. Dallaglio the only guy to be a world champ at both 15s and 7s.
RTB wrote:
I suspect you may be looking at this through Rugby Union media bias spectacles a little! Lets lists Kevin’s personal and Captain’s acheivements –
Kevin Sinfield MBE
7 x Super League Titles (Player and Captain)
2 x Challenge Cup’s (Player and Captain)
3 x World Club Challenge Titles (Player & Captain)
3 x League Leaders Shield (Player & Captain)
1 x Harry Sunderland Trophy (Man of match in Super League Grand Final)
1 x Lance Todd Trophy (Man of match in Challenge Cup Final)
1 x Golden Boot Winner (Best Player in the World)
He has also Captained England to many international wins, but of course never an RL World Cup.
He is also the third highest points scorer in the history of RL.
Now, with all due respect, none of the RU players you mention above come close to having a career list of honours like that!
Also, “far tougher” opposition… ask Sonny Bill Williams and even Sam Burgess which is tougher!
JonnyStone wrote:
Just as you are looking at it through RL rose tinted specs!
Well done Kevin Sinfield but nothing of note at international level. Lots of players have won games at international level but it is trophies that count and he has none in a sport where only three countries are competitive and one of those (GB/England) are usually third. That is what I mean by lack of competition/opposition. Sam Burgess made barely a ripple of impact in RU as we were all sadly to witness. Big hopes, little delivered followed by a quit. SBW far more famous (outside Oz) as a RU player.
As for MoM awards the fact you have to mention them means there is not much else to call on. The three I mention have countless of those to their names but hardly make their palmares. They all have their OBE/MBE gongs too and had to achieve at a higher level to earn them. Wilkinson was world player of the year in a field where All Blacks, Boks, Wallabies and top Euro nations (including the likes of Italy with Parisse) always throw out contenders.
No doubt Kevin Sinfield has a great record based on club exploits but most of the British public will be asking Kevin who? The three I mention are pretty much household names and faces. You know that as much as I do even though I appreciate you will not like it too much.
Froome for me but sadly he
Froome for me but sadly he won’t win it. Cycling vote will split (probably more in favour of Lizzie) and he just does not get much love from the cycling community (for some unfathomable reason) let alone the British public despite the rags to riches, unique story of how he reached the top.
Lizzie’s win just fantastic but not even on the same scale as a TdF win where Froome took on all the current greats and beat them (twice he has done that now versus the same field). Would Lizzie have won if a fit Vos had been there? Probably not.
RTB wrote:
Totally agree about Froome, I don’t get the negativity either. I’ve just read his autobiog – fascinating story and well-written by the ghost writer. Some great stories from when he used to be riding about the bush, day after day with his mates, all the way up to the first TdF win.
Recommended for a Xmas present!