BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award
The BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award[1] is an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. The award is given to a sportsperson "who has made a major impact on the world of sport during their lifetime". The winner is selected by BBC Sport.[2] When football manager Alex Ferguson won the award in 2001, the BBC described the award as "a new accolade" to be presented annually;[3] however, two people had already received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The inaugural recipient of the award was Frank Bruno in 1996, who won it after his retirement from boxing that year.[4] Bruno was the favourite to win the main award in 1995, but lost to Damon Hill,[5] causing many to criticise his Lifetime Achievement Award as being a consolation award.[6][7][8] Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros won the award the following year, but after that the award was not presented for three years. The award has been presented annually since Ferguson ended the hiatus in 2001. Five of the eleven recipients have been associated with football; tennis and golf are the only other sports to have been represented more than once. Tennis player Martina Navratilova was the first woman to have won the award. The only recipient of the award on multiple occasions is Ballesteros who won in 1997 and again in 2009, for his contribution to golf winning "the Open three times, the Masters twice as well as playing an inspirational role in the Ryder Cup".[9] The most recent winner, in 2019, was British paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson.
Winners
By year
Year | Nationality | Winner | Sport | Rationale | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | United Kingdom | Frank Bruno | Boxing | For his contributions to boxing which include winning the WBC heavyweight title.[10] | [11] |
1997 | Spain | Seve Ballesteros | Golf | "In recognition of his outstanding contribution to European golf over the last 20 years."[12] | [13] |
2001 | United Kingdom | Alex Ferguson | Football | For a managing career at Manchester United since 1986 which has won seven league titles and "claimed an unprecedented treble of Premiership, FA Cup and European Cup".[3] | [14] |
2002 | United Kingdom | George Best | Football | "In recognition of his footballing achievements", which include being named "Footballer of the Year and European Player of the Year in 1968", and winning two championship medals and a European Cup with Manchester United.[15] | [16] |
2003 | United States | Martina Navratilova | Tennis | "For a trophy-laden tennis career spanning 30 years, (...) winning a record 167 singles titles and an astonishing 329 trophies overall, 140 ahead of her nearest rival."[17] | [18] |
2004 | United Kingdom | Ian Botham | Cricket | "For services to cricket" where he played 102 Tests for England in his 15-year career as an all-rounder. During that time he took 383 wickets, which was the highest number for England until 2015 (currently third on the list) and scored 5,200 runs.[19] | [19] |
2005 | Brazil | Pelé | Football | For having a professional career in which "he scored 1,280 goals in 1,363 games" and "made 92 appearances for Brazil, scoring 77 goals" and winning three of the four World Cups he played in.[20][21] | [21] |
2006 | Sweden | Björn Borg | Tennis | For "dazzl[ing] the world of tennis in the 1970s and 1980s, winning 11 Grand Slam titles" including 5 Wimbledon championships.[22] | [23] |
2007 | United Kingdom | Bobby Robson | Football | For "his contributions as both player and manager in a career spanning more than half a century"[24] | [25] |
2008 | United Kingdom | Bobby Charlton | Football | For achievements that include helping "England to World Cup success in 1966 and [leading] Manchester United to European Cup glory in 1968, scoring twice in the final".[26] | [27] |
2009 | Spain | Seve Ballesteros | Golf | For his contributions to golf which include winning "the Open three times, the Masters twice (and) playing an inspirational role in the Ryder Cup".[9] | [9] |
2010 | United Kingdom | David Beckham | Football | For his playing career as well as his roles in the London 2012 Olympic bid and his central role in attempting to bring the 2018 World Cup to England | [28] |
2011 | United Kingdom | Steve Redgrave | Rowing | For "his huge contribution to rowing, his long and extraordinary career, and his ongoing commitment to promoting sport in the UK" | [29] |
2012 | United Kingdom | Sebastian Coe | Athletics | For his role in both London's bid for, and organisation of the hosting of, the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic games. | [30] |
2014 | United Kingdom | Chris Hoy | Cycling | For winning six Olympic gold medals, more than any other British sportsperson in history, as well as 11 golds at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships. | [31] |
2015 | United Kingdom | AP McCoy | Horse racing | For an unprecedented career in horse racing, being Champion Jockey for every season of his 20-year professional career and riding over 4,300 winners - including the Grand National, two Cheltenham Gold Cups, three Champion Hurdles and the Champion Chase. | [32] |
2016 | United States | Michael Phelps | Swimming | For a career in which he has won 23 Olympic gold medals, 3 silver medals and 2 bronzes across 4 games, including a record breaking eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. | [33] |
2017 | United Kingdom | Jessica Ennis-Hill | Athletics | For being one of only 12 British women to win an Olympic gold medal in athletics. Ennis-Hill is the 2012 Olympic champion, three-time world champion and 2010 European champion. | [34] |
2018 | United States | Billie Jean King | Tennis | For changing perceptions of what it meant to be a woman in sport following her historic victory in the Battle of the Sexes and for founding the Women's Tennis Association and the Women's Sports Foundation. Winner of 39 Grand Slam titles. | [35] |
2019 | United Kingdom | Tanni Grey-Thompson | Paralympic | [36] | |
By nationality
Nationality | Number of wins |
---|---|
United Kingdom | 10 |
United States | 3 |
Spain | 1 |
Brazil | 1 |
Sweden | 1 |
References
General
- "Sports Personality of the Year: more winners". BBC. December 2007. Retrieved 30 December 2008.
Specific
- Haywad, Paul (11 January 2009). "'Wayne Rooney is just like I was. So enthusiastic'". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
- "Sports Personality voting & judging: Terms & conditions". BBC Sport. BBC. 18 November 2008. Archived from the original on 17 December 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2008.
- "Fergie handed new accolade". BBC Sport. BBC. 9 December 2001. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
- Gibbons, Alex (6 June 2004). "The highs and lows of Frank Bruno". The Observer. London: Guardian Media Group. Archived from the original on 21 October 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
- "Today's Number 1". The Independent. FindArticles. 5 September 1995. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
- "To be Frank, this is going down-Hill". Daily Record. HighBeam Encyclopedia. 18 December 1996. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
- "Bruno backlash". The Sunday Telegraph. HighBeam Encyclopedia. 22 December 1996. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
- Walters, Mike (16 December 1996). "Ruddy great Damon". The Mirror. Questia Online Library Encyclopedia. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
- "Seve Ballesteros to get BBC Lifetime Achievement award". BBC Sport. 11 December 2009. Archived from the original on 14 December 2009. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- Walters, Mike (18 December 1996). "How did Bruno get an award for...this!; Henry Cooper on the Beeb's sporting blunder". The Mirror. Questia Online Library Encyclopedia. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
- "Hill wins BBC award for second time". The Independent. London: Independent News & Media. 16 December 1996. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
- "Rusedski wins sports star of year award". The Examiner. Thomas Crosbie Holdings. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
- Reade, Brian (19 December 1997). "Personality bypass for TV turkeys; The column that puts the boot into sport". The Mirror. Questia Online Library Encyclopedia. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
- Silver, Neil (10 December 2001). "Beckham is chosen by BBC viewers". The Independent. London: Independent News & Media. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- "Best nets lifetime honour". BBC Sport. BBC. 2 December 2002. Archived from the original on 12 March 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
- Akwagyiram, Alexis (9 December 2002). "Marathon winner scoops BBC sports award". The Guardian. London: Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- "Navratilova given lifetime honour". BBC Sport. BBC. 14 December 2003. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
- Norton, Charlie (15 December 2003). "Wilkinson and Redgrave scoop top BBC awards". The Daily Telegraph. London: David and Frederick Barclay. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- "Botham: The entertainer". BBC Sport. BBC. 12 December 2004. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
- "Sports Personality: The winners". BBC Sport. BBC. 11 December 2005. Archived from the original on 13 December 2007. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
- "Pele and Mourinho win BBC awards". BBC Sport. BBC. 11 December 2005. Archived from the original on 19 February 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
- "Sports Personality: The winners". BBC Sport. BBC. 10 December 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
- Broadbent, Rick (12 December 2006). "Borg backs irrepressible Murray to end British grand-slam drought". The Times. London: News International. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
- "Robson humbled by lifetime award". BBC Sport. BBC. 9 December 2007. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
- Millward, Robert (10 December 2007). "England's Bobby Robson honored for lifetime achievement in soccer". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
- "Charlton given BBC Lifetime award". BBC Sport. BBC. 14 December 2008. Archived from the original on 14 December 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
- Roughley, Gregg (14 December 2008). "BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2008 – as it happened". The Guardian. London: Guardian Media Group. Archived from the original on 15 December 2008. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
- "David Beckham to be given Lifetime Achievement award". BBC. BBC. 18 December 2010. Archived from the original on 18 December 2010. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
- "BBC Sport – Sir Steve Redgrave given BBC Lifetime Achievement award". BBC News. 22 December 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
- "Lord Coe receives BBC Lifetime Achievement award". BBC. 16 December 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
- "Sports Personality 2014: Sir Chris Hoy receives lifetime award - BBC Sport". Bbc.co.uk. 14 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
- "AP McCoy to be honoured with Lifetime Achievement award at BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2015". BBC. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
- "BBC Sports Personality 2016: Michael Phelps to be given lifetime achievement award". BBC. 19 December 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
- "BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2017: Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill gets Lifetime Achievement award". BBC. 17 December 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
- "Sports Personality of the Year: Billie Jean King given lifetime achievement award". BBC. 16 December 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
- "Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson given Lifetime Achievement award". BBC. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2020.