Olympians Dominate BBC Sports Personality Awards

Seven Beijing Olympics Gold Medallists in Annual Television Poll

Dec 19, 2008

Cyclist Chris Hoy, who won three gold medals in the Beijing Olympics, won the 2008 BBC Sports Personality Title. Three other Olympics cyclists were also in the top ten.

The British public showed their appreciation for the efforts of Team GB in the Beijing Olympics when they voted seven of the gold medallists into the top ten at the BBC Sports Personality awards on Sunday, December 14th.

Cycling Weekly proudly displayed the results of the poll on its website the day after the awards, and the data is copied below.

Team GB won forty-seven medals in Beijing, including nineteen golds, and the cycling team that dominated the medals haul had four representatives in the top ten BBC British sports personalities.

Hoy won three golds, and in the process became the first Briton to do so for a century, so it is little surprise that he heads the list.

The other cyclists in the top ten are Nicole Cooke, who won Team GB's first gold of the Olympics in the women's road race; Bradley Wiggins, who won a men's individual and team pursuit gold; and Rebecca Romero, who won gold in the women's individual pursuit after winning a rowing silver in the previous Olympics.

Other Olympians in the top ten are Rebecca Adlington, who became team GB's most successful swimmer for a century when she won the 400m and 800m freestyle titles; Ben Ainslie, who became Britain's most successful sailor ever when he won the Finn class to make it three golds from successive Olympics; and Christine Ohuruogu, whose women's 400m gold was team GB's only Athletics title.

Lewis Hamilton was the runner-up to Hoy after becoming the youngest ever Formula One motor racing champion in his second season in the top flight of the sport. Andy Murray also defied his relative inexperience to have an exceptional season on the international tennis circuit; he surpassed the nation's expectations with a US Open final appearance.

Murray finished one place below last year's BBC Sports Personality winner, Joe Calzaghe, who retained his world title while notching up his forty-fifth and forty-sixth unbeaten fights of his career with wins in the United States.

The Olympics cycling squad also won the team award, and British Cycling performance director, David Brailsford, won the coach of the year award.

Another Olympian, triple sprint gold medallist and record breaker, Jamaica's Usain Bolt, won the overseas award. Paralympics double gold medallist swimmer, Eleanor Simmonds, won the young person award.

The copyright of the article Olympians Dominate BBC Sports Personality Awards in Olympic/Paralympic Sport is owned by Marc Latham. Permission to republish Olympians Dominate BBC Sports Personality Awards in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.