Keely Hodgkinson is the fourth woman in a row to win SPOTY
Keely Hodgkinson was crowned 2024's Sports Personality of the Year last night – sporting a stunning custom Nike gown – making her the fourth woman in a row to win the award in a historic first for the ceremony. Prior to this, three consecutive women had won in the 1960s.
The middle-distance running champion secured Olympic gold in Paris this year with a staggering 54.61 seconds in the 800m, making the 22-year-old the sixth-fastest woman in history. Her coaches Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows also scooped up the BBC Sports Personality Coach of the Year award to share between them.
'I’m actually in a bit of shock. Thank you so much. I’m more excited for my coach to be honest, because I wouldn’t be where I am without him and his guidance that I’ve had since I was 17,' said Keely in her acceptance speech.
'This year has been absolutely incredible for me. I’ve achieved everything I’ve set out to do on the outdoor track, which is rare, so I’m so grateful to be in this position. Thank you everyone that voted at home, I hope you all loved watching Paris as much as I’ve loved competing in it and I wish you all a wonderful evening. Thank you so much.'
Now, WH celebrates the women who've received this prestigious trophy in the three years before Keely.
2023 – Mary Earps
Mary Earps, WH former cover star and goalkeeper for the England and Première Ligue club Paris Saint-Germain (having previously played for Manchester United) had a standout year in 2023. The Lionesses reached a first World Cup final, where she collected the Golden Glove award for best goalkeeper after also serving as England's vice captain.
She also kept a record 14 clean sheets (preventing the opposing team from scoring any goals during a match) in the 2022-3 Women's Super League (WSL) season, and was the first goalkeeper to keep 50 clean sheets in the WSL.
'It feels pretty great off the back of a couple of really big years and 2023 has been wild in ways I couldn't expect', Earps said as she received the Sports Personality award.
'I would not be here without my teammates with the Lionesses and at Manchester United because we've achieved some incredible things over the last couple of years,' she continued. 'While individual accolades are great, they only come after team success. This is their trophy just as much as mine.'
Speaking to WH in her cover interview, the athlete revealed she had recently learned to be more comfortable with herself: 'When I was a kid and in my early twenties, I used to – I think like a lot of us do – suppress emotions. You push them down, you put them in a box and you try to deal with them at another time.
'A few years ago, I pledged to myself that I was always going to try to be my authentic self, whatever happens, come hell or high water, whether it goes really well or really badly.'
2022 – Beth Mead
The year that the Lionesses came home as champions in the Women's Euros, securing England's first major women's football trophy, the SPOTY of course had to be one of the winning team. As player of the tournament and top scorer in the competition that culminated in England's epic defeat of Germany, Beth, then 27, became the first woman's footballer to win the coveted prize.
'I'm incredibly honoured to win this award', she said. 'I wouldn't have done it without the girls. The team have backed me. Yes, I've won this accolade, I've scored a few goals but I wouldn't have done it without them.
'This is for women's sport and women's sport heading in the right direction. Let's keep pushing girls, let's keep doing the right thing.'
Beth's performance also earned her the Golden Boot at Euro 2022, with six goals and five assists. Currently, the talented Arsenal and England player holds the impressive accolades of the most assists and most second goals scored in the Women’s Super League ever, and her international goal score for 2021-22 was 20 in 19 matches, setting a new record.
Describing her injury at the end of 2022 in excruciating detail to WH, she said: 'I felt a bang and it felt like someone had hit my knee with a hammer but ultimately it was my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) snapping and banging both sides of my knee.’
However, rigorous rehab involving proprioception work, strength conditioning, bike conditioning, stress management and quality sleep meant that she was back on the pitch in September 2023.
'I came on in the 88th minute,' she said. 'I had 35,000 people cheering me on, including my dad – this was the first live game he’d watched me since I played in the Euro final. It was so special.'
2021 – Emma Raducanu
The then-19-year-old Emma from Bromley, Kent secured the Sports Personality title after she became the first British woman to win a Grand Slam – any of the four major tennis tournaments – singles since Virginia Wade in 1977.
Her US Open victory was also historic as she was the first qualifier (a player who reaches the tournament by competing rather than automatically qualifying because of their world ranking) to win a Grand Slam title since the Open Era. Notably, she also didn't lose a single set.
She beat Olympic diver Tom Daley and swimming legend Adam Peaty, but had to give her speech from self-isolation after testing positive for COVID after playing in Abu Dhabi.
'Thanks to all the fans and voters – this year has been insane,' she said. 'The energy this year playing at Wimbledon in front of my home crowd, that was something I've never felt before. I'm also very happy for British tennis that we've managed to get this award.'
Speaking to WH earlier this year, Emma shared the surprisingly low-key way she celebrated when she got home after the US Open: ‘As soon as I [saw] my family and friends, everything felt pretty relaxed. My mum had made dumplings, and we all sat around the table chatting. I didn’t want to do anything fancy or outrageous, I just wanted to enjoy and spend quality time with people I can really be myself with.’
After taking some time to attend to injuries this year and doing gentler forms of movement like yoga and Pilates. 'I've matured a lot in the last few weeks,' she said. 'Wellness to me now is the inner stillness I feel.' But she is still rallying to get back on court: 'I’m prepared to work hard and do some damage next year.'
More fitness stories:
Beginner tennis tips: how Katie Boulter trains for Wimbledon
Strength training for beginners: how to start, benefits, tips and workouts
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