The Nominations for Sports Personality of the Year 2021 were announced this morning.
Controversies are already circling with Lewis Hamilton being snubbed from the list after losing his Formula One title yesterday in a dramatic showdown and Tyson Fury being on the shortlist despite threatening the BBC with legal action if he were to be added.
The contenders are Tom Daley, Adam Peaty, Tyson Fury, Raheem Sterling, Emma Raducuna and Sarah Storey.
Tom Daley – Diving
A household name first appearing at the Olympics at just 14. Through the years the public have watched him at the Olympics and Commonwealth games as well as seen him come out, get married and more recently finally win a Gold Olympic medal at the Olympic games making him the first British diver to have won four medals.
Adam Peaty – Swimming
Having a storming 2020 Olympics including winning the first Gold medal for GB Peaty has certainly earned his name on the Shortlist. Being the first Brit ever to defend his gold medal in a swimming event (the 100m breaststroke) he also played key roles in the 4×100 men’s relay and mixed relay bringing his medal total to five overall.
Emma Raducuna – Tennis
A name we didn’t know at the beginning of the year but after winning the women’s US Open this summer she has quickly become the favourite to win Sports Personality of the Year. Being the first British woman in 44 years to win an Open title clearly wasn’t enough as she went on to get to the fourth round of Wimbledon.
Raheem Sterling – Football
Sterling shone in the 2020 Euros scoring three goals including a historic goal against Germany and helping England reach the final of the tournament which hasn’t been achieved in 55 years. This earned him a place in UEFA’s team of the tournament. Within his club, Manchester City, he also scored ten goals across the season.
Tyson Fury – Boxing
Despite threatening legal action against the BBC if he was added to the list, stating that he didn’t need validation for his wins. That being said the unbeaten heavyweight champion’s victory against Deontay Wilder should be acknowledged in the 11th round showdown last October. This monumental win confirmed his victory in the trilogy of fights against Wilder since 2018.
Sarah Storey – Cycling
Sarah Storey is Great Britain’s most successful Paralympian of all time after a 17th gold and 28th medal at the 2020 games. These medals span across eight games after making her debut in Barcelona 1992 as a swimmer before transitioning to cycling. Not only this, but she also won two gold medals in the road world championships this year.
Sports Personality of the Year will air on December 19 on BBC One.
Featured image credit: BBC Sport
Film, Media and Journalism student who writes about things that catch her interest. Instagram @charlsutcliffe
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