The rich history of athletics at BBC SPOTY

A total of 18 athletes from athletics have picked up the prestigious award over the years, more than double the number of the next best sport

All eyes will be on BBC Sports Personality of the Year this week (December 17), with Olympic 800m gold medallist Keely Hodgkinson the current favourite to take home the top prize.

The 22-year-old, who became just the third British Olympic female 800m champion after Kelly Holmes (2004) and Ann Packer (1964), is one of six nominees for this year’s award.

Hodgkinson is up against Alex Yee, Luke Littler, Sarah Storey, Jude Bellingham and Joe Root in Salford.

Yee, after becoming Olympic and world champion, will be hoping to become the first ever triathlete – Alistair Brownlee was closest with second in 2016 – to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Keely Hodgkinson (Getty)

If the odds are anything to go by however, then Hodgkinson’s closest challenger for the prize will be teenage darts sensation Luke Litter, who made the World Championship final on debut and backed it up with 10 major trophies.

The last person from athletics to become BBC Sports Personality of the Year was Mo Farah in 2017 and the last female athlete in athletics to claim the award was Holmes in 2004.

Th 18 winners from the sport include: Christopher Chataway (1954), Gordon Pirie (1955), Dorothy Hyman (1963), Mary Rand (1964), David Hemery (1968), Mary Peters (1972), Brendan Foster (1974), Steve Ovett (1978), Seb Coe (1979), Daley Thompson (1982), Steve Cram (1983), Fatima Whitbread (1987), Liz McColgan (1991), Linford Christie (1993), Jonathan Edwards (1995), Paula Radcliffe (2002) and Holmes (2004).

Christopher Chataway [L] (Getty)

Christopher Chataway (1954)

Christopher Chataway’s 1954 was one for the record books. Not only was he a pacemaker for Roger Bannister’s first sub-four-minute mile but Chataway also secured a gold medal over three miles at the then British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver.

His greatest achievement however came in the 5000m. At the European Championships in Bern, Chataway placed second behind the Soviet Union’s Vladimir Kuts, before setting a world record over the distance two weeks later with 13:51.6 at White City.

Kuts would have the last laugh though, running 13:51.2 just 10 days after Chataway clocked his mark in London.

Chataway was the first ever winner of BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Gordon Pirie (1955)

Gordon Pirie won the award in 1955 after famously beating the legendary Emil Zátopek – a triple Olympic champion in the 5000m, 10,000m and marathon from Helsinki 1952 – three times that year.

His trio of wins against Zátopek came in both the 5000m and 10,000m, with perhaps the most famous coming over the latter distance at White City

At the time, Zátopek, who was the first man in history to run a sub-29 minute 10,000m, was the world record-holder over 25 laps.

Dorothy Hyman (Getty)

Dorothy Hyman (1963)

There were no International championships in the 1963 season but Dorothy Hyman dominated domestically and almost set a world 100m record.

Her personal best of 11.3 was enough for the fastest European mark and so close to Wilma Rudolph’s world record of 11.2.

Hyman, who secured Olympic 100m silver and 200m bronze at the Rome 1960 Games, also contributed to a world record in the 4×110 yard relay in 1963, with the British quartet setting a time of 45.2.

Mary Rand (1964)

Mary Rand’s historic achievements at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo meant she was a deserved winner of BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1964.

The Brit set a world long jump record of 6.76m in the final, beating favourite Tatyana Shchelkanova to the gold medal in the Japanese capital.

Rand also claimed silver in the pentathlon and was part of the Great Britain team that picked up bronze in the 4x100m relay.

David Hemery (Mark Shearman)

David Hemery (1968)

David Hemery won the Olympic 400m hurdles crown at the 1968 Mexico Games in a world record time of 48.12.

The Brit beat West Germany’s Gerhard Hennige by almost a second and it was the largest winning margin in the 400m hurdles at the Olympics since 1924.

Hemery’s world record would last until 1972 when Uganda’s John Akii-Bua ran 47.82 at the Munich Olympics.

Mary Peters (1972) 

Mary Peters’ fine all-round performance in the pentathlon secured Great Britain’s only gold medal in athletics at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

In one of the closest ever finishes in combined events at the Games, Peters saw off West Germany’s Heide Rosendahl by just 10 points.

Peters set a world record score of 4801 points and got the gold by just one-tenth of a second in the 200m, which was the final event.

Brendan Foster (Mark Shearman)

Brendan Foster (1974) 

Brendan Foster’s 1974 season was one for the ages. At the European Championships in Rome, he demolished a world class field, running a championships record of 13:17.21 to win by over six seconds at the Stadio Olimpico.

The Brit was also narrowly beaten to Commonwealth 5000m gold in Auckland, with Kenya’s Ben Jipcho edging out Foster – the pair clocking 13:14.4 and 13:14.6 respectively.

Foster’s world 3000m record at his home stadium in Gateshead attracted global headlines and his time of 7:35.1 was so quick that it lasted until 1978, when Kenya’s Henry Rono ran 7:32.1.

Steve Ovett (1978) 

Steve Ovett was already starting to become a household name before 1978 but that season took his fame to another level.

At the 1978 European Championships in Prague, Ovett secured a gold medal in the 1500m and then took home silver over 800m.

He recorded a championships record of 3:35.59 in his 1500m victory, seeing off Ireland’s Eamonn Coghlan and fellow Brit Dave Moorcroft.

Before his 1500m race, Ovett looked like he was destined for the top of the podium in the 800m but both he and Seb Coe were chased down by East Germany’s Olaf Beyer.

Ovett also clocked a world best of 8:13.51 over two miles in 1978, handing a rare defeat to Henry Rono that year.

Seb Coe (Mark Shearman)

Seb Coe (1979) 

Seb Coe’s three world records in 41 days in 1979 will never be forgotten.

The first two – 1:42.33 in the 800m and 3:48.95 over the mile – came in Oslo, with the third – 3:32.03 in the 1500m – set in Zurich.

It meant that Coe became the first person to hold these three specific records at the same time.

Coe was voted athlete of the year by AW in 1979 and his achievements that season no doubt helped him secure an Olympic 1500m gold and 800m silver at the 1980 Moscow Games.

He was also presented with the Lifetime Achievement award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2012.

Daley Thompson (1982) 

Daley Thompson raised the decathlon world record not once but twice during his 1982 season.

The Olympic champion from the Moscow Games won that year’s Götzis in a record 8730 points, before West Germany’s Jürgen Hingsen bettered it months later with 8741 points.

However, Thompson soon regained his place on the top of that list after recording 8774 points in his win at the European Championships in Athens.

Thompson also retained his Commonwealth decathlon title in 1982.

Steve Cram (Getty)

Steve Cram (1983) 

Steve Cram was crowned world 1500m champion in 1983, in the inaugural championships in Helsinki.

After claiming European and Commonwealth gold medals over the distance a year earlier, Cram knew that he was in good form.

However, injuries disrupted the early part of his 1983 season, making that win in the Finnish capital even more special, with the Brit clocking 3:41.59 in a close race.

Later that summer Cram defeated Steve Ovett, who was the world 1500m record-holder at the time, in an all-time classic mile at Crystal Palace.

Fatima Whitbread (1987) 

Fatima Whitbread struck gold on the global stage in 1987 after defeating East Germany’s Petra Felke in a captivating final in Rome.

The Brit threw a championships record of 76.64m, with Felke, who was the world record-holder at the time, way back with a best throw of 71.76m.

Whitbread’s winning mark wasn’t far off her personal best of 77.44m, which was the previous world record, set a year earlier.

She was also given the Helen Rollason award for “outstanding achievement in the face of adversity”  at last year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Liz McColgan (Mark Shearman)

Liz McColgan (1991) 

Liz McColgan had a historic 1991 season, with success across both track and road racing.

At the World Championships in Tokyo, McColgan took apart the field to strike gold over 10,000m, winning by over 20 seconds.

Just a few months later she secured victory at the New York Marathon – her first race over 26.2 miles – in a time of 2:27:13 – the fastest ever marathon debut by a female athlete.

McColgan also claimed an individual bronze medal at that year’s 1991 World Cross Country Championships.

Linford Christie (1993) 

In 1993, Linford Christie became the first man in history to hold the Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth titles in the 100m.

His winning time of 9.87 at the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart was that quick that it stood as the British record until 2023, when Zharnel Hughes ran 9.83 in New York.

Christie was also part of the British quartet that secured 4x100m silver behind the Americans at those championships.

Such was the strength in athletics that year, Sally Gunnell finished second behind Christie at BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Jonathan Edwards (Mark Shearman)

Jonathan Edwards (1995) 

Jonathan Edwards went unbeaten throughout his 1995 season and topped it off by claiming a world triple jump title in Gothenburg.

On his way to the gold medal, Edwards broke the world record not once but twice in the Swedish city.

On his first jump, he became the first man to legally pass the 18 metre barrier with clearance of 18.16m.

That lasted for a matter of 20 minutes as he jumped a staggering 18.29m in his second round, with that mark still the world record to this day.

Paula Radcliffe (2002)

Paula Radcliffe’s success in 2002 came on the track, roads and grass.

At the European Championships in Munich, she became 10,000m champion, while the Brit also claimed 5000m gold at a home Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

Earlier on that year, Radcliffe triumphed in the senior women’s race at the World Cross Country Championships, defeating the American pair of Deena Kastor and Colleen De Reuck in Dublin.

Radcliffe also made her marathon debut in 2002, setting a women’s-only world record of 2:18:55 in London and then an outright mark of 2:17:18 in Chicago.

Kelly Holmes (Mark Shearman)

Kelly Holmes (2004) 

Kelly Holmes became just the third woman in history to complete the Olympic 800m/1500m double after the Soviet Union’s Tatyana Kazankina in 1976 and Russia’s Svetlana Masterkova in 1996.

The Brit clocked 1:56.38 in her 800m victory and then ran a British record of 3:57.90 in the 1500m.

Holmes also took home the Diamond League 1500m crown in 2004, triumphing in Monaco.

Before being crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year, Mary Rand, Ann Packer, Mary Peters, Tessa Sanderson, Sally Gunnell and Denise Lewis – the previous six Olympic British female track and field champions – all paid tribute to Holmes.

Mo Farah (2017) 

Mo Farah’s world 10,000m title at the London Stadium brought back memories of Super Saturday from London 2012.

Once again, Farah triumphed over 25 laps on a global stage, all in front of a partisan home crowd.

It was the Brit’s seventh world gold medal, with the tally starting all the way back in Daegu in 2011.

Farah also secured a 5000m silver at the World Championships in London and became Diamond League champion over the distance later that year.

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