Keely Hodgkinson is voted BBC Sports activities Character of the Yr.
TV viewers have voted for the BBC Sports activities Character of the Yr for 70 years. The award is proven reside on BBC One midweek evenings from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. When it began in 1954, the TV panorama was considerably completely different. BBC1 was the one channel, and many individuals didn’t have a tv—my very own dad and mom first obtained tv in 1958. You watched it reside or didn’t watch it in any respect—video recorders, not to mention viewing on demand, have been unparalleled.
The winner is chosen by the general public’s votes. In my youth, voting was prematurely by letter. Within the fashionable world, you vote by way of a QR code or cellphone through the reside program. A shortlist of six candidates is chosen by a BBC panel. It’s an award that sportspeople take severely. This yr, 4 of the six candidates have been current for the reside ceremony, with the England cricketer, who took third place, collaborating by way of a reside TV hyperlink from New Zealand, the place he was enjoying.
Sport means sport, with the final 6 winners representing soccer/soccer, tennis, System One, cricket, and biking. Three winners from skating and even a member of the royal household, Princess Anne, competed globally in equestrian eventing. Trying on the checklist of previous winners, I used to be shocked to notice that observe and subject has been the dominant sport. 18 winners have been from the game – subsequent finest System 1 with eight. When it comes to podium placings, our sport has had 53. What’s the following finest soccer? It was 24. That mentioned, Hodgkinson is barely the second from our sport to win prior to now 20 years. In trying to interpret the outcomes, one has to keep in mind that this can be a reside vote by those that are watching the TV protection, whereas prior to now, it was a postal vote – how that impacts issues, I don’t know.
It’s undoubtedly glorious publicity for observe and subject athletics. Keely is a fascinating younger lady, which actually helps the game’s notion. Along with the main award, there are a number of writer awards, and it was good to see our sport choose up two.
Coach of the YearTrevor Painter and Jenny Meadows
World Sport StarArmand Duplantis
In fact, it’s solely a TV program and a preferred vote, but it surely actually does our sport no hurt to see Keely Hodgkinson win, leaving Actual Madrid and England soccer star Jude Bellingham trailing in her wake. The checklist of earlier winners beneath is a potted historical past of British athletics successes.
Earlier Athletics Winners
1954 – Christopher Chataway
1955 – Gordon Pirie
1963 – Dorothy Hyman
1964 – Mary Rand
1968 – David Hemery
1972 – Mary Peters
1974 – Brendan Foster
1978 – Steve Ovett
1979 – Seb Coe
1982- Daley Thompson
1983 – Steve Cram
1987 – Fatima Whitbread
1991 – Liz McColgan
1993 – Linford Christie
1995 – Jonathan Edwards
2002 – Paula Radcliffe
2004 – Kelly Holmes
2017 – Mo Farah
