SPotY 2024

[PR1Berske]

Jude Bellingham (football)
Keely Hodgkinson (athletics)
Luke Littler (darts)
Joe Root (cricket)
Dame Sarah Storey (para cycling)
Alex Yee (triathlon)

Link: Luke Littler named on six-strong Sports Personality of the Year shortlist

Not a vintage year. I suppose Dame Sarah is the "safe" bet,...?

 

[Silas Loom]

Littler is the safe bet. He gets the headline because teenage prodigy stories get clicks.

 

[Petcha]

Jude Bellingham (football)
Keely Hodgkinson (athletics)
Luke Littler (darts)
Joe Root (cricket)
Dame Sarah Storey (para cycling)
Alex Yee (triathlon)

Link: Luke Littler named on six-strong Sports Personality of the Year shortlist

Not a vintage year. I suppose Dame Sarah is the "safe" bet,...?

Yeh, can't see anyone else winning. The 35yo darts guy who claims to be 16 might be a left-field pick though.

 

[dessiato]

But darts isn't a sport.

 

[Boo Radley75]

Keeley is odds on favourite to win it. Luke Littler is a dark horse, though. For casual sports fans, he's easily the most recognisable.

 

[Elpenor]

Hodgkinson is the outstanding choice I reckon but who cares really

 

[skyscraper101]

Luke Littler FTW

 

[QueenOfGoths]

Joe Root for me, followed by Keeley Hodgkinson

 

[stavros]

Hodgkinson or Yee for me.

I was a bit surprised Tadej Pogacar didn't get on the shortlist for overseas SPOTY.

 

[SpookyFrank]

The wokes have successfully sandbagged Charlotte Dujardin, leaving only Luke Littler to represent the 'not a sport' community.

 

[stavros]

Apart from Raducanu in 2021, which was Covid weird anyway, the last time a non-Olympian won in a summer Olympics year was Damon Hill in 1996, when the UK had a shit Olympics.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

I'd have thought Hodgkinson should win.

Root's had a great year but England as a team have had a middling year. If they'd beaten India in India, he would have a stronger case. Tough for team sport players. Unless the team achieves something outstanding, you're unlikely to win.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Darts? No. Just no. He didn't even win the world championship. He can have some juniors award.

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

Yeah I'd think Hodgkinson, as the standout Olympic winner.

For me it should be Jasmin Paris though: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/23/...-finish-barkley-marathons-spt-intl/index.html

 

[Silas Loom]

Darts? No. Just no. He didn't even win the world championship. He can have some juniors award.

The litmus test for being a SP rather than merely a sportsperson is that you capture the attention of people with no prior interest in your sport, which Littler certainly did.

 

[8ball]

Nigel Mansell

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Presence/lack of personality doesn't come into it. Nigel Mansell won the thing twice.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Nigel Mansell

Too slow

 

[Silas Loom]

Presence/lack of personality doesn't come into it. Nigel Mansell won the thing twice.

Who would want to spend five minutes conversing with Littler? He was interesting because he was sixteen years old, looked forty six, and was playing grown men on level terms at a sport that requires nothing more than calm, muscle memory and basic mathematics.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Yeah I'd think Hodgkinson, as the standout Olympic winner.

For me it should be Jasmin Paris though: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/23/...-finish-barkley-marathons-spt-intl/index.html

Brutal! Imagine if she'd been a couple of minutes later and failed!

It is interesting how male advantage disappears at the very very extreme endurance end of sport. Also true in extreme swimming events. Needs to be at wtf levels though to even things out.

 

[Petcha]

I saw an interview with Littler yesterday on the beeb and he did actually seem a lovely, shy young guy. Very quietly spoken, showing the journo round his family home. Not exactly what you'd expect of a darts player.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Who would want to spend five minutes conversing with Littler? He was interesting because he was sixteen years old, looked forty six, and was playing grown men on level terms at a sport that requires nothing more than calm, muscle memory and basic mathematics.

Sounds like someone worthy of a special award, but not the whole thing.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Not all sports are equal.

kid I was at school with won the world marbles championship aged either 18 or 19. His dad had previously won it. Local paper level news story.

 

[skyscraper101]

Hodgkinson it is then.

 

[Nine Bob Note]

I dozed through most of it, but caught the last ten minutes. I'd've gone for Yee as I like Triathlon and his victory in Paris was one of my personal highlights that I totally saw coming (though not literally due to the appalling coverage).

Storey is prolly destined for Companion of Honour, so I doubt it'll get her down too much.

 

[stavros]

Since when did they do SPOTY on a week night? I associate it with Sundays.

 

[hash tag]

Cav would have made a good winner and being a competitive sole he would rather have won something that he competed for than being handed lifetime achievement on a plate.