We all know Chrstmas is coming, in fact, we can’t get away from it. But another thing this time of year brings is Sports Personality of the Year, and in 2024 the North West has seen some incredible success stories in the world of sport – shown by the names shortlisted for tonight’s (17 December) prestigious award.
The iconic awards show, famous for reflecting the sporting brilliance that has wowed the public over the last 12 months, will take place at MediaCity in Salford tonight, showcasing Greater Manchester’s prowess not only in the sports world but the media landscape too.
Manx cyclist Mark Cavendish has been announced as 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, cementing his status as the most successful sprinter of all time. The 39-year-old cycling legend from the Isle of Man, initially planned to retire in 2023, but postponed his farewell to chase a record-breaking 35th stage win at the Tour de France.
In a stunning display of determination and skill, the ‘Manx Missile’ claimed victory on stage five in Saint-Vulbas, securing his place in history as the sole holder of the record. Tonight’s awards will be hosted by a trio of sporting icons, too, with Gabby Logan, Clare Balding and Alex Scott doing the honours in Salford.
Sports Personality of the Year 2024 North West nominees:
Keely Hodgkinson (Athletics)
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll remember the incredible success Athertonian Keely Hodgkinson achieved at the Paris Olympics this summer. Making the North West wildly proud – so much so that Stevenson Square in Manchester was home to a huge mural for a while – Keely won gold in the women’s 800m final, earning her household name status and ultimately a Sports Personality of the Year nomination.
Dame Sarah Storey (Para-cycling)
The amazing Dame Sarah Storey also had an incredible summer in Paris, adding two more gold medals to her astonishing collection as she won cycling’s C4-C5 road race and C5 road time trial at the Paris Paralympic Games. That extended her British record tally of Paralympic medals to 30, 19 of which are golds, and they came a remarkable 32 years after her first in swimming in 1992 – what a triumph from the Eccles-born Paralympian.
Luke Littler (Darts)
Runcorn teenager Luke Littler burst onto our screens earlier this year on a fairytale run to the PDC World Championship final, just months after finishing his GCSEs. Ranked a lowly 164th in the world, the then 16-year-old broke a host of records en route to reaching the final. He’s since gone on to become the youngest winner of a major PDC tournament by claiming the Premier League Darts title, while his victory at the prestigious Grand Slam of Darts made him just the fourth player in history to win 10 trophies in one season. There’s plenty more to come in this young man’s career, but will he score a Sports Personality of the Year award this year?
Who are the other Sports Personality of the Year 2024 nominees?
Jude Bellingham – The England and Real Madrid footballer from Stourbridge just outside of Birmingham, is up for Sports Personality of the Year after a great run for both club and country. Bellingham helped Real Madrid win the La Liga title and the Champions League, contributing a remarkable 23 goals across all competitions, and scored twice on England’s route to the Euros final, including a brilliant bicycle kick against Slovakia.
Joe Root – Sheffield-born Root made history in style as he surpassed Alastair Cook’s mark of 12,472 runs to become England’s leading scorer in Test cricket with a career best 262 against Pakistan.
Alex Yee – The triathlete enjoyed a stunning 2024 in which he was crowned both Olympic and world champion. At the Paris Games he produced a magnificent sprint finish to overtake New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde in the closing stages of the run to win his first individual Olympic gold. He then went on to be part of the Great Britain team that won bronze in the mixed relay.
We’ll be keeping you updated on the results of Sports Personality of the Year 2024, with fingers crossed for one of our three North West nominees!
You can watch Sports Personality of the Year 2024 on BBC One and iPlayer from 7pm on Tuesday 17 December.