Last night the BBC Sports Personality of the Year was revealed and Atherton-born Olympic 800m gold medallist Keely Hodgkinson came out on top. In 2024, the North West has seen some incredible success stories in the world of sport – shown by the names shortlisted for the prestigious award – but it was Greater Manchester’s Keely who took home the prize.
The iconic awards show, famous for reflecting the sporting brilliance that has wowed the public over the last 12 months, took place at MediaCity in Salford last night (December 17), showcasing Greater Manchester’s prowess not only in the sports world but the media landscape too.
Keely Hodgkinson has been running her whole life, starting her professional journey at local Leigh Harriers, and finally claimed an Olympic gold medal at Paris 2024 after being frustrated by silver in consecutive Olympics and World Championships. At the Paris Olympic Games, the 22-year-old ran the women’s 800m final in an astonishing 1:56:72, taking her to victory over Tsige Duguma of Ethiopia and Mary Moraa of Kenya who came second and third.
Following her Olympic achievement, not only did Keely Hodgkinson make the North West proud, her success at the Olympics saw Stevenson Square in Manchester become home to a huge mural of the athlete for a while. Hodgkinson also retained her European 800m title in Rome and became the sixth-fastest woman of all-time when she improved her British record to one minute 54.61 seconds at the London Diamond League.
Keely Hodgkinson is the fourth successive woman to win the Sports Personality of the Year award after Mary Earps (2023), Beth Mead (2022) and Emma Raducanu (2021). Plus,the Atherton athlete’s coaches, Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, were recognised with the Coach of the Year award earlier in the night.
Also representing the North West last night was Runcorn teenager Luke Littler, who burst onto our screens earlier this year on a fairytale run to the PDC World Championship final, just months after finishing his GCSEs. The darts player came second in the running for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, with England cricketer Joe Root coming third.
Sarah Storey, Alex Yee and Jude Bellingham were also shortlisted for the award by a panel of experts, with the winner decided by a public vote. Manx cyclist Mark Cavendish was also the recipient of the Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement award in 2024, after his 19-year professional career came to a glorious end.