The BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award is the main award of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony, which takes place each December. The winner is the sportsperson, judged by a public vote, to have achieved the most that year. The recipient must either be British or reside and play a significant amount of their sport in the United Kingdom. The winner is selected from a predetermined shortlist. The most recent award-winner is golfer Rory McIlroy, who won the 2025 award.
History Sports Personality of the Year was created by Paul Fox, who thought of the idea while he was editor of the magazine show Sportsview. The first award ceremony took place in 1954 as part of Sportsview, and was presented by Peter Dimmock. For the first show, votes were sent by postcard, and rules presented in a Radio Times article stipulated that nominations were restricted to athletes who had featured on the Sportsview programme since April. Approximately 14,500 votes were cast, and Christopher Chataway beat Roger Bannister to win the inaugural BBC Sportsview's Personality of the Year Award.
Nomination procedure
The shortlist is announced a few weeks before the award ceremony, and the winner is determined on the night by a public telephone and on-line vote. Prior to 2012, a panel of 30 sports journalists each submitted a list of 10 contenders. From these contenders a shortlist of ten nominees was determined. This method was criticized following the selection of an all-male shortlist in 2011. The selection process for contenders was changed for the 2012 and subsequent awards by the introduction of an expert panel. The panel produces a shortlist that reflects UK sporting achievements on the national and/or international stage, represents the breadth and depth of UK sports and takes into account 'impact' within and beyond the sport or sporting achievement in question.
Winners Five people have won the award more than once: tennis player Andy Murray is the only person to have won three times and the only person to have won in consecutive years, while boxer Henry Cooper and Formula One drivers Nigel Mansell, Lewis Hamilton and Damon Hill have each won twice.
Princess Anne (1971) and her daughter Zara Phillips (2006) are the only award-winners to be members of the same family. The oldest recipient of the award is Dai Rees, who won in 1957 aged 44. Ian Black, who won the following year, aged 17, is the youngest winner. Torvill and Dean, who won in 1984, are the only non-individual winners of the award, so in the 66 years of the award there have been 67 recipients; of these 14 have been female. 17 sporting disciplines have been represented; athletics has the highest representation, with 17 recipients. Counting Torvill and Dean separately, there have been 48 English winners of the award, six Scottish, five Welsh, three Northern Irish, and one Manx.
Awards by year +BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award winnersEditionYearWinnerSportSecondSportThirdSportRef.1st1954AthleticsAthleticsShow jumping2nd1955Athleticsalign=center align=center align=center align=center 3rd1956Cricketalign=center align=center align=center align=center 4th1957GolfFormula OneAthletics5th1958SwimmingFootballFootball6th1959Motorcycle racingFootballSwimming7th1960Show jumpingAthleticsSwimming8th1961Formula OneBoxingTennis9th1962SwimmingAthleticsSwimming10th1963AthleticsSwimmingFormula One11th1964AthleticsSpeedwayAthletics12th1965CyclingFormula OneShow jumping13th1966FootballSpeedwayFootball14th1967BoxingCyclingShow jumping15th1968AthleticsFormula OneShow jumping16th1969TennisGolfFootball17th1970BoxingGolfFootball18th1971EventingFootballRugby union19th1972AthleticsFootballEventing20th1973Formula OneTennisShow jumping21st1974AthleticsBoxingRugby union22nd1975CricketAthleticsSwimming23rd1976Figure skatingFormula OneSwimming24th1977TennisCricketMotorcycle racing25th1978AthleticsAthleticsCricket26th1979AthleticsCricketFootball27th1980Figure skatingAthleticsAthletics28th1981CricketSnookerAthletics29th1982AthleticsSnookerAthletics30th1983AthleticsFigure skatingAthletics31st1984Figure skatingAthleticsSnooker32nd1985BoxingCricketAthletics33rd1986Formula OneAthleticsFootball34th1987AthleticsSnookerGolf35th1988SnookerSwimmingGolf36th1989GolfBoxingSnooker37th1990FootballSnookerCricket38th1991AthleticsRugby unionFootball39th1992Formula OneAthleticsAthletics40th1993AthleticsAthleticsCART41st1994Formula OneAthleticsAthletics42nd1995AthleticsBoxingRallying43rd1996Formula OneRowingHorse racing44th1997TennisTennisRowing45th1998FootballAthleticsAthletics46th1999BoxingFootballAthletics47th2000RowingAthleticsAthletics48th2001FootballSailingFootball49th2002AthleticsFootballHorse racing50th2003Rugby unionRugby unionAthletics51st2004AthleticsRowingCricket52nd2005CricketSailingFootball53rd2006EventingGolfGymnastics54th2007BoxingFormula OneBoxing55th2008CyclingFormula OneSwimming56th2009FootballFormula OneAthletics57th 2010Horse racingDartsAthletics58th2011CyclingGolfAthletics59th2012CyclingAthleticsTennis60th2013TennisRugby unionHorse racing61st2014Formula OneGolfAthletics62nd2015TennisRugby leagueAthletics63rd2016TennisTriathlonShow jumping64th2017AthleticsMotorcycle racingAthletics65th2018CyclingFormula OneFootball66th2019CricketFormula OneAthletics67th2020Formula OneFootballHorse racing68th2021TennisDivingSwimming69th2022FootballCricketCurling70th2023FootballCricketAthletics71st2024 AthleticsDartsCricket72nd2025 GolfRugby UnionFormula One73rd2026 TBATBATBATBATBATBA
By sport This table lists the total number of awards won by the winner's sport.
Accurate up to and including the 2025 award. +Winners by sport Sport First place(s) Second place(s) Third place(s) Total placing(s)Athletics Formula One Football Tennis Cricket Boxing Cycling Golf Figure skating Swimming Eventing Snooker Rugby union Rowing Motorcycle racing Show jumping Horse racing Sailing Darts Speedway Diving Rugby league Triathlon CART Curling Gymnastics Rallying Total
By number of awards The below table lists all people who have finished in the top three places more than once. Recipient First place(s) Second place(s) Third place(s) Total placings(s) 3 0 1 4 2 4 0 6 2 0 1 3 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 2 1 2 2 5 1 2 1 4 1 2 1 4 1 2 0 3 1 1 2 4 1 1 1 3 1 1 0 2 1 1 0 2 1 1 0 2 1 1 0 2 Torvill and Dean 1 1 0 2 1 1 0 2 1 1 0 2 1 0 2 3 1 0 2 3 1 0 1 2 1 0 1 2 1 0 1 2 1 0 1 2 1 0 1 2 1 0 1 2 1 0 1 2 0 2 1 3 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 1 3 4 0 1 1 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 2 2
By gender This table lists the total number of awards won by the winner's gender. The figure-skating couple Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are counted as a single mixed-gender winner.
Accurate up-to and including the 2025 award. +Winners by gender Gender First place(s) Second place(s) Third place(s) Total placing(s)Male Female Mixed Total
See also History of BBC Sports Personality of the Year
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