Sports
Skateboarder Sky Brown, Para-swimmer William Ellard and darts player Luke Littler have been shortlisted for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award.
A panel selected 10 outstanding young people from a longlist before narrowing that down to a top three.
The winner will be announced live on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year show on Tuesday, 17 December.
The show will be broadcast live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 19:00 GMT.
Last year, snowboarder Mia Brookes won the award after she became the youngest world champion in snowboarding, and Britain’s first in slopestyle, a month after turning 16.
Sky Brown
Age: 16 Sport: Skateboarding
Team GB’s Sky Brown overcame a shoulder injury to win Olympic bronze in the women’s skateboarding park final.
She dislocated her shoulder the day before travelling to Paris, having previously torn the medial collateral ligament in her right knee.
At 16, Brown is a two-time Olympic medallist, having also won bronze in Tokyo three years ago. She will be 20 by the time the Los Angeles Olympics begin.
She said: “I’m honoured to be shortlisted for Young SPOTY this year. Skateboarding has levelled up so much since the last Olympics. I’m so excited to see everyone push even harder and what that means for LA.”
William Ellard
Age: 18 Sport: Para-swimming
Ellard marked his Paralympic debut in Paris by winning three medals, including two golds.
He was crowned Paralympic champion in the S14 200m freestyle – setting a new world record – and mixed 4x100m freestyle relay, and took silver in the 100m butterfly.
Ellard also won four medals – including double gold – at the European Championships in Funchal, Madeira, in April.
He said: “To be shortlisted for this award means a lot to me. Some of the greats – like Wayne Rooney, Ellie Simmonds, Phil Foden and Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix – have won in the past, so to be nominated this year is a special feeling.”
Luke Littler
Age: 17 Sport: Darts
Littler became a household name right at the start of 2024, when his remarkable run at the World Darts Championship led to him becoming the youngest player to reach the tournament’s final – at the age of 16 years and 347 days.
Though he lost the final to Luke Humphries, he has gone on to win 10 senior PDC titles this year, and is the reigning Premier League Darts, Grand Slam and World Series of Darts Finals champion.
Nicknamed ‘the Nuke’, he is ranked fourth in the world, and earned more than £1m in prize money in 2024.
Littler said: “It’s been an amazing year and to be in the running for Young Sports Personality of the Year tops it off. If I’ve brought more fans to darts, then that’s all that matters to me.”
Panel decides shortlist
The judging panel included Paralympic gold medallist Sammi Kinghorn, Olympic silver medal-winning BMX freestyler Keiran Reilly, television presenter Qasa Alom and Radio 1 DJ Jeremiah Asiamah, as well as representatives from the Youth Sport Trust, Blue Peter and BBC Sport.
The 10 athletes – including the final three – on the longlist were:
Mia Brookes (snowboarding)
Sky Brown (skateboarding)
William Ellard (Para-swimming)
Cat Ferguson (cycling)
Phoebe Gill (athletics)
Luke Littler (darts)
Abigail Martin (gymnastics)
Ethan Nwaneri (football)
Bly Twomey (Para-table tennis)
Culled from BBC
5th December, 2024
C.E.
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