Sports Personality of the Year Contenders Revealed

Sunday, 19th December will see the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awarded at the Birmingham Arena. Presented by Sue Barker and Gary Linekar, the public will get to vote on who takes top honours. 

Top jockey, AP McCoy and the Ryder cup winning golfers Lee Westwood and Graeme McDowell, along with legendary darts master Phil (The Power) Taylor all make the short list. 

Diver Tom Daley and Winter Olympic skeleton gold medallist, Amy Williams, heptathlon athlete, Jessica Ennis and cricketer Graeme Swann are joined by boxer David Haye and Mark Cavendish the sprint cyclist, to complete the final ten. 

The bookmaker’s favourite at present is McCoy, with 5/6 after his marvellous year, culminating in winning the Grand National. Betting is also good on The Ryder Cup boys, McDowell and Westwood, who follow McCoy closely and will pose stiff opposition. On the other hand, Phil Taylor could surprise everyone and win the public’s heart, after his years of service at the oche, with odds of 10/1. Finally, Amy Williams, at 14/1, may also see her achievement earning her some just rewards in a sport Britain is particularly successful in. 

The other categories up for grabs include the best team, coach of the year, overseas personality and the young person of the year. There is one thing already certain, from looking at the list of nominations; it will not be a footballer. In a year in which footballers have been accused of under performing and being over paid, the BBC has not seen fit to include anyone from the beautiful game on the list.