BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. 

Every year the BBC, that august broadcasting company who always adhere to their fundamental values of fairness, impartiality, balanced coverage of all events and the edict to educate, inform and entertain, hold their yearly Sports Personality of the Year programme, the one sporting TV retrospective that always lives up to its billing as one of the most moving, poignant and uplifting TV evenings. 

Sport, as we know, should always be acknowledged as a force of good, a natural expression of our innermost thoughts on the playgrounds of our lives, the way we bond together as a collective unit,  generating lifelong friendships and partnerships, establishing our individuality in a way that is both healthy, therapeutic and cathartic. It provides us with daunting challenges and pushes us to the limit of our capabilities and beyond. 

Sport is all about physical activity, sharing mutual celebration of goals, records, personal bests, the length of javelin and discus throws, memorable rugby union tries, the rapid accumulation of wickets, runs, the scoring of hat-tricks and the pinnacle of achievement at Wimbledon. It is that mesmerising battle of wits, that forehand fiesta, those miraculous cross court, angled volleys, the drilled winners, the heavenly drop shots and lobs that somehow defy gravity. And then sport gets all serious and business like, nasty, corrupt, evil and pernicious, dodgy and cynical. 

Last night though, the BBC patted itself on the back again. It indulged in congratulation, the distribution of awards, praise, flattery, those well deserved plaudits and accolades that always seem to coincide with the week before Christmas. And then the prizes were handed out liberally and generously, there were faces lighting up with pleasure when they discovered that this was indeed their year for winning. Sport was at the top of their agenda, their discussion of the moment, their one moment of reflection over the year when nice things are said. 

Years ago, an air of at times stifling formality and grandeur seemed to fall over White City in London when hundreds of sportsmen and women wore their smartest dinner jacket, bow tie and elegant dress for another Sports Personality of the Year. It is a gathering of the great and good, the location where the late and great Bobby Moore lifted the shield and trophy highlighting the exceptional brilliance that Moore had drawn all over the old Wembley Stadium on that special day in July 1966.

In many ways the Sports Personality of the Year award is the genuine recognition of sporting excellence, taking our hats off to those whose achievements may never be surpassed. In one year, Red Rum, one of the most engaging and friendliest horses ever to win the Grand National, trotted onto the big stage and revelled in the human adulation of it all. Sport, of course, crashes through all barriers, frontiers and boundaries to the point where everything seems possible. 

Strong women such as Dame Mary Peters, almost permanently gracious and smiling, Paula Radcliffe, our legendary marathon Olympian, the Princess Royal, Princess Anne, captured all the right headlines. We marvel at the determined and resolute, the gritty and tenacious, the bloody and single minded, the artists and personalities, the hell for leather enthusiasts and those who just love to take part. We admire the dedicated and the courageous, the hugely conscientious and fiercely committed who get up at the crack of dawn on freezing early mornings. 

Surely the highlight of the evening was the award to those who had overcome hardship and adversity, when the bleakest and darkest moments of their lives finally found the light at the end of the tunnel. Dr Mark Prince, who tragically lost his immensely talented son Kai, to a vicious knife attack in West London, spoke both powerfully and eloquently about his loss and torment, grief and personal suffering. Kai Prince was just one of the brightest talents Queens Park Rangers had ever produced. But then the youngster was horrifically murdered and sport could only bow its head. 

This year, the BBC's vast and impressive Media Centre in Salford, was the perfect venue for an awards ceremony, a massive auditorium that had all the acoustics of a major pop concert at full blast. There was an appearance from Barry Mcguigan, a charming Irish boxer who once took on all comers and succeeded convincingly on more than one occasion. Sir Chris Hoy, our inspirational Olympic winner and cyclist, was recently and sadly diagnosed with cancer but now conducted himself with the utmost dignity. 

And then there were the awards themselves. Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows became the sports coaches of the year and were almost enchantingly modest into the bargain. Then, Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis, a name not commonly known to those who may never have heard of him, picked up the World Star of the Year and the applause was widespread. We knew we were in the presence of the technically gifted, the extraordinary individuals and teams of the year, the ones who were grateful to be in the right time and place and then just going beyond the call of duty with another display that required the stopwatch. 

But this year has been the year of the Olympics in Paris, the football Euros in Germany, another cricket season of impeccable manners and summertime gentility, sport at its most competitive, brutal, happiest and stunningly compelling. There was the bitter anti climax of the Olympic Games opening ceremony where the whole spectacle was transferred to the River Seine and everybody got soaked. The rain in late summer Paris reduced the Olympian spirit to the level of a soggy sweet wrapper. 

Still, the final one, two, three of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year were revealed and too predictable for words. Joe Root,  one of England's most consistent, durable and outstanding of cricketers, was third and in New Zealand on Test duty with England. Root has become another phenomenal record breaker, racking up runs with the kind of easy going enjoyment that should be sport's only priority. 

Then the runner up was a young gentleman who must have been completely overawed by the immensity of the occasion. And yet 17 year old Luke Littler is a man in boys clothing, mature beyond his years, a precocious teenager who should be doing the clubs and bars circuit and embracing adolescence. But Littler is a disciplined darts player and therefore accustomed to vocal audiences and cheering crowds. From the tender age of three, little Luke was chucking arrows at a dart board with freedom and carefree abandon. Now he's earning the kind of money his doting parents could only have fantasised about.

The winner of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024 though could have been forecast in your sleep. Keely Hodgkinson, pig tail flying behind her and legs pumping away like pistons, lengthened her stride  magisterially in the 800metres Final in Paris and then flew for the finishing line as if she'd had everything under control from the starting pistol. We remembered Jessica Ennis Hill in London Olympic year of 2012 and Dame Kelly Holmes performing athleticism of the highest order and thought of Keely putting in her shift and just looking effortless. Hodgkinson was the Sports Personality of the Year and the BBC had given us another pre Christmas feast for the eyes. Well done Keely.