Double world track champion Becky James and Great Britain’s world championship-winning team pursuit squad have made the shortlist for the Sunday Times and Sky Sports Sportswomen of the Year Awards.
James, who comes from Abergavenny, emerged as the successor to multiple world and Olympic champion Victoria Pendleton in March this year when she won the sprint and keirin at the UCI Track World Cycling Championships in Minsk, Belarus.
The same event saw Laura Trott and Dani King – both of whom won Olympic gold at London 2012 – retain their world title in the team pursuit, partnered by Elinor Barker, replacing Joanna Rowsell in the event, which has subsequently changed to a four-woman format.
The 21-year-old James has been nominated in two categories – Sportswoman of the Year, and Young Sportswoman of the Year.
In the former, she is up against equestrian Charlotte Dujardin, skeleton world champion Shelley Rudman, cricketer Heather Knight, 400m runner Christine Ohorougu, who regained her world title this year, and fellow Welshwoman and world triathlon champion, Non Stanford.
In the Young Sportswoman of the Year category, James is up against golfer Charley Hull, heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson, and 100m and 200m runner, Dina Asher-Smith.
Great Britain’s team pursuit trio are nominated alongside the England cricket and netball teams, and the European team that won golf’s Solheim Cup against the United States in Colorado in August.
The shortlists were drawn up by nine judges, including Sky Sports presenter Hayley McQueen, Sky Sports managing director Barney Francis and Sport England director, Tanya Joseph.
The awards ceremony will be broadcast live on Sky Sports on 5 December.
14 thoughts on “Becky James & team pursuit squad make Sportswoman of the Year shortlist”
No Hannah Barnes…..Does
No Hannah Barnes…..Does no-one in any of these bodies who choose the sports people even know about cycling?
Hannah Barnes has been by far the best British female cyclist this year….yet she was left out of the world team, off every list that nominates sports women for anything….
Can we find a special Road.cc award for her??
Gkam84 wrote:No Hannah
Hannah had a great year on the British domestic scene – utterly dominated it and will hopefully get her shot at a contract with a team racing the bigger races in Europe next year.
If she takes a step up next season and shows well in major races in Europe then this is the type of thing she should be up for – but the track girls are regularly beating the best in the world, Hannah’s regularly beating the best of the UK, big difference
And lets not forget, this is
And lets not forget, this is just a piece of junk popularity award that Murdoch’s minions are throwing their money and hyperbole at.
It means nothing.
farrell wrote:And lets not
I’d be very keen to refute the notion that this ‘means nothing’ whilst yes it may be a Murdoch enterprise (and I’m sure he’s making money from it) getting female sportspeople recognised for their achievements be it the BBC, Sunday Times, or even Sky can only be praised.
You can be as keen as you
You can be as keen as you like to refute it, it still doesn’t make it anything more than a trophy handed out to whoever happened to be most popular with text voting fuckwits.
Its a Jeckyll version for the BBC’s Sports Personality award and that’s a pointless exercise too. Really not worth getting worked up about.
If cyclists are being voted
If cyclists are being voted as the most popular sportspeople in the UK by ‘text voting fuckwits’ then I think we’re winning.
The very fact that there is another awards ceremony supporting and promoting the sportswomen of the UK can only be a very good thing indeed.
William Black wrote:If
Hopefully there will be someone on a bike you can vote for on Britain’s Got Talent to keep you happy then.
farrell wrote:Hopefully there
I’m trying to train my mini schnauzer to ride a unicycle. Sure-fire Britain’s Got Talent winner right there 😉
farrell wrote:William Black
Hopefully there will be someone on a bike you can vote for on Britain’s Got Talent to keep you happy then.— William Black
Blimey you’re a particularly bitter little man aren’t you.
Why bemoan something positive happening in sport.
William Black wrote:Blimey
I’m not bitter at all but this is isn’t a sport.
Unless they somehow managed to sneak “Looking happy whilst applauding when a camera has you on a big screen” in to the next Olympics.
I’d rather watch sportswomen, and sportsmen for that matter, competing in their chosen sports than sat round in a room full of other uncomfortable looking athletes, hangers on and over-hyping Sky “reporters”.
farrell wrote:William Black
I’m not bitter at all but this is isn’t a sport.
Unless they somehow managed to sneak “Looking happy whilst applauding when a camera has you on a big screen” in to the next Olympics.
I’d rather watch sportswomen, and sportsmen for that matter, competing in their chosen sports than sat round in a room full of other uncomfortable looking athletes, hangers on and over-hyping Sky “reporters”.— William Black
But you care enough to rant about it on the internet.
merckxissimo wrote:But you
Not just ranting, you should have seen how furiously I was shaking my fist at my computer screen*.
*That could have been to do with that “other” website though…
Careful with that, it could
Careful with that, it could land you in trouble:
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford_messenger/news/raccoon-bike-8118/
I think it’s worth stating a
I think it’s worth stating a few facts here for Mr. Black. Firstly, these awards have been going for over10 years so there’s certainly no bandwagon jumping here by The Sunday Times. Secondly, this year is the first time any of the award categories have been open to public vote and the first year they’ve been televised live. Finally, female athletes really do care about this award. Granted they don’t set out to go and win it and aren’t thinking about it throughout the season, but in a World where only 5% of all media coverage is devoted to Women’s Sport, and only 0.5% of all sponsorship income, these are incredibly important & prestigious awards.
So Mr. Black please take your cynicism elsewhere, our sport doesn’t need it!