Mary Earps, the goalkeeper for Manchester United and England, has been chosen as the BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2023.One year after Beth Mead, her England teammate, took home the title, she became the second female football player to do so.
Stuart Broad, an English cricket player, was runner-up, followed by Katarina Johnson-Thompson, the world heptathlon champion.
Earps said: "It feels pretty great off the back of a couple of really big years and 2023 has been wild in ways I couldn't expect. I'm really, really grateful."
Playing every minute of England's seven World Cup games, Earps saved a penalty in the final, which England lost 1-0 to Spain, and only gave up four goals while maintaining three clean sheets.
She previously participated in England's victory at Euro 2022, which saw the Lionesses win their first major championship.
Earps has become indispensable for England.
Earps has come back from being ‘trampled by a million elephants’
Not literally, but the Manchester United goalkeeper went through a rough time.
“I was down and out,” she told GQ. Having played for several clubs up to 2019, she signed for the Red Devils on the back of a World Cup campaign where she was the third choice.
But Man U could only give her a salary that was beneath what she could afford to live on, and she soon also found herself dropped from the national side.
“There was no way my career was going to be resurrected. It was dead and gone. Run over 3,000 times and trampled by a million elephants.”
The Nottingham native credits her family’s support in helping her pick herself up and turn around her form.
Sarina Wiegman put faith in her
England’s manager recalled Earps to the squad in 2021, and she took over from Karen Bardsley as the number one goalkeeper.
Earps played her first match since 2019 in September 2021 and has not lost her place since.
“I’m very ambitious about wanting to push myself to reach my absolute maximum potential and change the landscape of female goalkeeping. You know, just small goals,” she told GQ.
Earlier in 2023, she was named Fifa’s best goalkeeper in the world following her exploits at Euro 2022 when she kept four clean sheets to help England to the final.
And then, in the final, it was Earps who made a fingertip save against Germany as the Lionesses brought football home.
@1maryearps Best night of my life. Unforgettable ❤️🏆 #weuro2022 #womensfootball
♬ original sound - Mary Earps
She knows how to party
The 30-year-old is known for pushing herself to do her best but also for maintaining a sense of humour.
The goalie told GQ that “I’m very much a goofball” and maybe that was reflected in her post-victory celebrations when she climbed onto her manager’s desk and danced to Three Lions with her teammates, forming a conga line behind her.
She has told Vogue: "A lot has changed since our Euros win, including the profile of the game.
“I’m trying to adjust to and enjoy the attention that comes with success. Not that I would have it any other way."
When not playing football, partying or travelling - she also has an interest in the wider work world and has gained a degree in information management and business studies.
@1maryearps Pick me to squish me real quick 🤣 #mearps27 #lionesses #FIFAWWC
♬ So Pick Me - Dallas
All hail the queen of TikTok
Earps is a lot of fun to follow on social media. On TikTok, she has 644,000 followers - where she is seen pranking teammates and messing around a training ground.
She is often joined by Beth England and Millie Bright, two of her best buddies on the England team.
Another insight into her life through social media is her love for travel, as Earps has been pictured in Spain, Greece and other picturesque places.
