The Sunday Times - UK (2021-12-19)

The Sunday Times December 19, 2021 21

Sport

The 68th annual Sports Personality of the Year takes

place tonight, with a shortlist of six contenders

IN A NUTSHELL

Decided by public vote

during tonight’s show, the

awards celebrate the British

sportsperson who has

achieved the most in a year.

Before 2012, a ten-person

shortlist was formed by a

panel of 30 journalists, but

the method was criticised

following an all-male group

in 2011. Since then, the

shortlist has been decided

by an expert panel.

MULTIPLE WINNERS

Sir Andy Murray is the only person to have won the award three

times, while boxer Sir Henry Cooper and Formula One drivers Nigel

Mansell, Damon Hill and Sir Lewis Hamilton have triumphed twice.

LAST FEMALE WINNER

Zara Tindall (then Phillips) is the

last woman to win (2006) — the

13th to do so. She followed

Dame Kelly Holmes (2004) and

Paula Radcliffe (2002).

Tom Daley — became the first British
diver to take home four Olympic

medals, winning gold and bronze in

Tokyo this summer. He and team-mate
Matty Lee won the Team GB Choice

Award for their gold in the men’s

synchronized 10m platform.

Emma Raducanu — became the

youngest British tennis player to

achieve a major title after winning
the US Open at 18-years-old — and

the first qualifier in history to do so.

Dame Sarah Storey — won three

golds at the Paralympics in Tokyo,

making her Great Britain’s most

successful Paralympian of all time,

with 28 medals in total.

Tyson Fury — retained his WBC title by

knocking out Deontay Wilder in Las

Vegas, strengthening his claim as one

of the greatest heavyweights in

history. The Gypsy King was selected

by the BBC despite threatening to take

legal action against them if nominated.

Adam Peaty — became the first

British swimmer in history to defend

an Olympic title, winning a gold

medal in the 100m breaststroke in

Tokyo. Took a break on the dancefloor

in Strictly Come Dancing.

Raheem Sterling —

won England’s

Player of the
Tournament at Euro

2020 and scored

three important
goals in their

journey to the final.

ANATOMY OF ...SPORTS

PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

THE 2021 NOMINEES

3

Sir Andy

Murray

Sir Lewis

Hamilton

Damon

Hill

Nigel

Mansell

Sir Henry

Cooper

2222

PAST WINNERS...

Formula One 8

Long distance running 6

Tennis 6

Cricket 5

Football 5

Boxing 5

Cycling 5

Middle distance running 4

Equestrian/Horse racing 3

Figure skating 3

Sprinting 2

Golf 2

Long jump/Triple jump 2

Swimming 2

400m hurdles 1

Decathlon 1

Javelin 1

Motorcycle racing 1

Pentathlon 1

Rowing 1

Rugby 1

Show jumping 1

Snooker 1

England 51

Scotland 7

Wales 5

Northern Ireland 2

Isle of Man 1

Ireland 1

... by sport ... by nationality

YOUR NEXT

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UNTOLD: BREAKING

POINT

NETFLIX

When Mardy Fish

pulled out of his US

Open fourth-round

tussle with Roger

Federer in 2012, he

cited vague “health

reasons” and took an

extended break.

Before his next US

Open in 2015, he was

more candid, breaking

all manner of elite

sporting taboos by

admitting that he was

suffering from severe

anxiety disorder. Even

now, he is not sure

what happened.

Happily married and

with supportive

parents, he had

enjoyed a late career

blossoming, becoming

world No 7, beating

Andy Murray and

Rafael Nadal and, in

2011, achieving his

ambition of playing in

the World Tour Finals.

However, a below-par

opening to 2012 and

the Davis Cup captain

Patrick McEnroe’s

off-the-cuff punditry

LESSONS FROM

A LIFE IN SPORT

JAMIE ROBERTS

The former Wales

centre on Cantona, big

nights out and giving

your all for 80 minutes

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

My dad taking me down to

the local rugby club at six

years old. Fooling around in

the mud, having fun. I

remember getting in the car

and my dad going nuts if I got

any of the leather seats

muddy. I loved it.

MY BREAKTHROUGH MOMENT

I got to captain Cardiff

schools rugby when I was 15

and that was my first real step

on the ladder towards

becoming a professional

rugby player.

THE COACH I LOOKED UP TO

My PE teachers, Dai Williams,

Huw Llewellyn and Keri Evans.

They were an amazing

influence at that time in my

life. Keri Evans was very

famous in our parts for giving

penalties away for dull play.

MY CHILDHOOD HERO

Eric Cantona. I was a big

Manchester United fan and

there was something about

him I just loved. I thought his

swagger and confidence was

so cool — not that I had any of

that when I played.

RUGBY NEVER GOT ANY BETTER

THAN...

Beating England in 2013 and

upsetting their grand-slam

hopes in Cardiff. I remember

looking to my team-mates

with seven minutes to go and

organising a night out while

the game was still going. We

weren’t afforded that luxury

too often on the rugby field,

so that was pretty amazing.

MORNING I HAD THE HANGOVER

TO END ALL HANGOVERS

When I found out I had passed

my medical finals. I remember

opening the email, seeing I

had passed and rounding up

the lads. Within a few hours,

there were 20 of us outside a

pub in Pontcanna and we had

an absolutely huge night

celebrating. The morning

afterwards was outrageous,

but it was worth it for the

eight years of hard work.

FAVOURITE VENUE

As much as Cardiff is

probably my favourite, I also

love the Stade de France. I

love how it was built for the

Fifa World Cup in 1998 and

Cantona was full of swagger

that France won it in their own

stadium. Their story was

amazing so for me to play in

that colosseum and walk in

the footsteps of some of the

sporting greats was very

special.

TOUGHEST OPPONENT

Dan Carter. I was defensive

captain for Wales for a long

time and I always tried to

second-guess and stay ahead

of the opposition. He was the

one player you just could not

anticipate what was coming

next. His ability to keep

defences guessing was on

another level.

I LEARNT MOST FROM...

Beating the All Blacks with the

Barbarians in 2009. It was a

world-class group but training

was embarrassing — we could

not get the ball to the wing

without dropping it — and we

went out four nights on the

bounce in London. Winning

on the Saturday proved to me

that, while preparation before

a game is important, all that

matters is throwing

everything at the 80 minutes.

That is what you are judged

on.

MY ONE REGRET

Not taking the opportunity to

go and play in Japan in 2017.

BEST ADVICE FOR A

SPORTSPERSON

Pressure is a privilege. As

sportspeople, sometimes it is

easy to forget we are being

paid to do a hobby. I have

never treated it as a job. To be

in those moments of immense

pressure is a real privilege.

Interview by Ben Willcocks

Centre Stage by Jamie

Roberts (Hodder & Stoughton)

is available to buy

assessment that Fish

had put in a

“horrendous”

performance tipped

him into an emotional

abyss: “My life was a

living hell and all I

wanted to do was curl

up.”

After the

intervention of a child

psychologist, it ends

well. These days, he is

the US Davis Cup

captain himself.

John Aizlewood