The race to be crowned as the 2024 BBC Sports Personality of the Year is now officially underway after the shortlist for this year’s award was revealed.
The ceremony for what remains one of the most prestigious individual honours in British sport - currently held by Lionesses star Mary Earps - is always a highlight of the pre-Christmas television schedule, and this year should be no different after a hugely memorable 12 months.
This month’s award will be handed out on Tuesday December 17, with the public voting for their favourite on the night.
There will be plenty of other prizes given out, including Young Sports Personality of the Year. There will also be recognition for the best teams and coaches across any sport. Here is a look at the stars in the frame for the main award after the shortlist was confirmed...
Keely Hodgkinson
Keely Hodgkinson is the current odds-on favourite to be named as the winner for 2024 after a fairytale year.
After a silver medal as a teenager at the delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021 - where she broke Kelly Holmes’ British record - and back-to-back second-place finishes at the World Championships, the 22-year-old topped the podium at the Paris Olympics in August after storming to victory in the women’s 800m.
That after having already retained her European title in Rome in June and then set a new British record 800m time - the sixth-fastest ever - at the London Diamond League meeting. It is surely her award to lose.
Jude Bellingham
What a year for the footballer, who established his reputation as one of the sport’s very best with both club and country in 2024.
Jude Bellingham had already enjoyed a breathtakingly swift rise to prominence with England, Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid at such a young age, but this year he truly underlined his superstar status by playing an instrumental role in Los Blancos’ LaLiga and Champions League double before then helping the Three Lions to reach the final of Euro 2024 in Germany over the summer, scoring twice along the way.
Luke Littler
Also nominated for Young Sports Personality of the Year alongside skateboarding sensation Sky Brown and double gold medal-winning Paralympic swimmer William Ellard, arguably no sportsperson enjoyed a more incredible rise to prominence in late 2023 and 2024 than darts phenom Luke Littler.
The teenager from Warrington’s meteoric journey from relatively unknown prospect to World Championship finalist captivated a nation and made headlines all around the world, before he then proved it was certainly no fluke by winning 10 senior PDC titles in 2024 and triumphing in seriously impressive fashion in all of the Premier League, Grand Slam and World Series, suggesting he will spend decades at the top of the sport.
Alex Yee
Lewisham triathlete Alex Yee was another one of Team GB’s prominent Olympic heroes in Paris, producing the most enthralling sprint finish to reel in and then overtake New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde to upgrade the individual silver medal he won in Tokyo three years ago.
He also took bronze - his fourth Olympic medal overall - as part of the mixed relay event, while in October Yee memorably secured his first triathlon world title in Spain after a couple of painful near-misses in recent years.
Dame Sarah Storey
Already a record-breaker, Britain’s most decorated Paralympian ever took her amazing haul of gold medals to 19 at her ninth Games in Paris over the summer.
The celebrated swimmer-turned-cyclist won the women’s C4-5 road race by pipping home favourite Heidi Gaugain, whom she had also beaten to win the C5 time trial - continuing her dominance in both disciplines.
If that wasn’t quite enough, Dame Sarah Storey then retained her road race crown at the Road and Para-cycling World Championships in Switzerland in September, her 38th world title in total.
Joe Root
One of the finest cricketers of all time hit some major milestones in 2024, the most notable of which was replacing Sir Alastair Cook as England’s all-time leading run scorer in Tests during the tour of Pakistan in October.
He isn’t far shy now of the 13,000 mark, which has him up to fourth on the all-time list and quickly closing in on the likes of Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting ahead. It surely won’t be long before the iconic Sachin Tendulkar is the only man to have scored more Test runs than Root, who is as brilliant as ever at almost 34.
BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024 odds
Winner
Keely Hodgkinson: 1/4
Luke Littler: 5/2
Alex Yee: 50/1
Jude Bellingham: 66/1
Joe Root: 80/1
Dame Sarah Storey: 80/1
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
