The BBC has confirmed a shortlist of six who will be in contention for the 2021 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award on Sunday, 19 December, live on BBC One.
A sensational year of sport will be celebrated in style as Gary Lineker, Gabby Logan, Clare Balding and Alex Scott present the 68th edition of the BBC’s flagship sporting ceremony from MediaCityUK in Salford.
The nominees for the coveted award in 2021 are diver Tom Daley, boxer Tyson Fury, swimmer Adam Peaty, tennis player Emma Raducanu, footballer Raheem Sterling and Paralympic cyclist Dame Sarah Storey.
Viewers will be able to vote for their favourite during the live show on BBC One on Sunday, 19 December.
Other awards to be announced on the night include Young Sports Personality of the Year, Team and Coach of the Year, World Sport Star of the Year, Lifetime Achievement and Unsung Hero.
There will also be a full review of the year’s most memorable sporting moments, including Great Britain’s magnificent Olympics and Paralympics, as well as the most dramatic Euros in which England reached the final.
With live performances by some of the biggest names in music, it will be a night packed full of emotion and inspiration, culminating in the crowning of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, as voted for by the public.
Votes can be cast by phone or online on the evening of Sunday, 19 December and the number to call for each contender will be revealed during the programme.
BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2021 will be broadcast live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 6.45pm on Sunday, 19 December.
Scroll down for further details on this year’s nominees for the award (courtesy of BBC Sport).
For more details about the ceremony, visit bbc.co.uk/sportpersonality.
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TOM DALEY
At his fourth Games, Daley finally became an Olympic diving champion, alongside Matty Lee in the synchronised 10m platform event.
A household name since competing on the world stage as a schoolboy, the public has watched as he won major titles, shared his grief when he lost his father to cancer, and his joy when he married and later became a father.
Then aged 27, and 13 years after his Olympic debut, he claimed an emotional triumph at the Games in Tokyo. Daley also won bronze in the men’s 10m platform to become the first British diver to claim four Olympic medals.
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TYSON FURY
Unbeaten Fury gained a thrilling 11th-round win over American Deontay Wilder to retain his WBC title in Las Vegas in October.
He was twice knocked down himself in the fourth round before knocking out Wilder in a brutal contest to remain world champion.
It confirmed Fury’s status as one of the great heavyweights and the dominant force in the trilogy against Wilder, with the first fight in 2018 finishing in a controversial draw, before the British boxer won their second outing in 2020.
The champion’s father John later revealed Fury had undergone surgery on both elbows after suffering a serious injury before his second win over Wilder.
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ADAM PEATY
Peaty wrote his name into the history books once again as he powered to 100m breaststroke gold in Tokyo to become the first British swimmer to defend an Olympic title.
He blew away the competition to win Britain’s first gold medal of the Games.It left Peaty with the 16 quickest times – this race was the fifth fastest – over the distance in history, and he remains the only swimmer to dip under 57 seconds with his 2019 world record.
He also played an instrumental role in Great Britain’s historic mixed 4x100m medley relay victory and the silver claimed by the men’s medley relay line-up.
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EMMA RADUCANU
A 44-year wait for a British women’s Grand Slam singles champion ended with Raducanu’s remarkable run to win the US Open.
She was the first qualifier in the Open era to win a Grand Slam title, sealing victory with a straight-sets win over Canadian Leylah Fernandez.
Raducanu, then 18, did not drop a set in the tournament as she became the youngest women’s Slam champion since Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon as a 17-year-old in 2004.
In the summer, while awaiting her A-level results, the teenager had emerged as a star at Wimbledon, defying her ranking of 338 to reach the fourth round before retiring from her last-16 match after suffering breathing difficulties.
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RAHEEM STERLING
Sterling shone as England progressed at Euro 2020 – reaching the final of a major tournament for the first time in 55 years before losing to Italy on penalties.
The Manchester City forward scored three goals at the tournament, including the opener during England’s historic win over Germany in the last 16.
Sterling was one of three England players, alongside defenders Harry Maguire and Kyle Walker, to be picked in Uefa’s team of the tournament.
He also scored 10 Premier League goals during the 2020-21 season as City won the title for the third time in fourth years.
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DAME SARAH STOREY
A 17th Paralympic gold sealed Storey’s status as Great Britain’s most successful Paralympian of all time.
In Tokyo, Storey defended the women’s C4-5 road race title she has held since London 2012 to put her one gold ahead of previous record holder Mike Kenny.
Storey’s gold was her third of the Tokyo Paralympics – her eighth Games since making her debut in Barcelona in 1992 as a 14-year-old swimmer.
She also won the individual pursuit on the track before claiming time-trial gold as she took her overall Paralympic medal tally to 28.
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