by Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson has been named BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024.
The award caps a brilliant year for the 22-year-old, which saw her win gold at the Paris Olympics, successfully defend her European title and set a new British record of one minute and 54.61 seconds, making her the sixth fastest woman in history made.
Darts prodigy Luke Littler came second in the public vote, while England cricket star Joe Root came third at Tuesday’s ceremony in Salford.
Hodgkinson’s success makes it an unprecedented fourth consecutive year that the award has been won by a woman, following Mary Earps in 2023, Beth Mead in 2022 and Emma Raducanu in 2021.
After being announced as the winner by Sir Chris Hoy, Hodgkinson said on stage: “This year has been absolutely incredible for me.
“I achieved everything I set out to do on the outdoor track, which is pretty rare, so I’m so grateful to be in this position. Thank you to everyone who voted at home – I hope you all enjoyed seeing Paris as much as I enjoyed competing there.”
Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows won the Coach of the Year award after guiding the athlete to glory and Hodgkinson said: “To be honest I’m really more excited about my coach because without him and his I wouldn’t be here where I am, guidance that I’ve had since I was 17.”
