Sports Personality of the Year

A focus on sporting achievement

2025

2023 Mary Earps

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England goalkeeper Mary Earps was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2023, ahead of cricketer Stuart Broad and heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson, with jockey Frankie Dettori, wheelchair tennis player Alfie Hewett and golfer Rory McIlroy also shortlisted for the award. Nottingham-born Earps made her full international debut for the Lionesses in their final qualifying match for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, a 6-0 rout of Kazakhstan at the Astana Arena, in September 2018. However, she spent the tournament proper warming the bench as third-choice goalkeeper and subsequently fell out of favour with then England Phil Neville before being recalled to the squad by his successor Sarina Wiegman.

 

In fact, on her first appearance for the Lionesses since November 2019, Earps was named as starting goalkeeper in an 8-0 thrashing of North Macedonia at St. Mary’s in September 2021 and soon established herself as first choice between the sticks. Indeed, she played every minute of all six games in the 2022 UEFA European Women’s Football Championship, in which England beat old rivals Germany 2-1, after extra time, in the final at Wembley, thereby winning their first major tournament. Unsurprisingly she was named Goalkeeper of the Tournament.

 

At 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Earps was once again the Lionesses’ outstanding player, playing every minute of all seven matches, keeping three clean sheets and saving a penalty from Spanish forward Jennifer Hermoso in the final at the Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia, which England nonetheless lost 1-0 to Spain. She was, once again, rewarded with the Golden Glove for the best goalkeeper at the tournament.

 

Domestically, as first-choice goalkeeper for Manchester United, also won the Women’s Super League Golden Glove for 2022/23, having kept a record 14 clean sheets, and was subsequently named England Women’s Player of the Year for 2022/23. Collecting the Sports Personality of the Year award, Earps said, “I would not be here without my team-mates with the Lionesses and at Manchester United because we’ve achieved some incredible things over the last couple of years. While individual accolades are great, they only come after team success. This is their trophy just as much as mine.”

2024 Keely Hodgkinson

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In 2024, Keely Hodgkinson became the fourth successive woman to be voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year after Emma Raducanu (2021), Beth Mead (2022) and Mary Earps (2023). After an annus mirabilis over 800 metres, which culminated in a convincing victory over Tsige Duguma at the Stade de France, Paris to win her first Olympic gold medal, Hodgkinson beat darts player Luke Littler and cricketer Joe Root to the award. Paralympian Sarah Storey, triathlete Alex Yee and footballer Jude Bellingham were also shortlisted.

 

Reflecting on a season in which she went unbeaten over 800 metres, the then 22-year-old said, “This year has been incredible and I achieved everything I set out to do on the outdoor track.” In June, Hodgkinson retained her title in the European Championship in Rome, Italy and, in June, improved her own British record to 1:54.61 at the London Diamond League. The latter performance made her the sixth-fastest woman in history over 800 metres, leading to speculation that the longest-standing record in athletics – the 1:53.28 set by Jarmila Kratochvilova in Munich, Germany in 1983 – may be within her range.

 

Born and raised in Atherton, Greater Manchester, Hodgkinson announced her arrival on the global stage when, as a relatively unknown teenager, she finished runner-up to fellow 19-year-old Athing Mu in the final of the 800 metres at the postponed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan in 2021. She continued her series of near-misses when runner-up to Mu, again, at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, United States in 2022, missing out on a gold medal by just 0.08 seconds.

 

The following year, at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hodgkinson was involved in a highly-anticipated showdown with her principal rivals, Mu and Mary Moraa. The ‘Big Three’ dominated the final, filling the first three places, but although Hodgkinson beat Mu for the first time, she again finished runner-up, to Moraa, by just 0.31 seconds. Nevertheless, victory in Paris made Hodgkinson just the tenth British woman to win an Olympic gold medal in athletics, and the first since Jessica Ennis-Hill at London 2012.