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Darts prodigy Luke Littler has been shortlisted for the BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year award.
The 17-year-old caused a sensation when he became the youngest player to reach the final of the PDC World Championship in January, where he lost 7-4 to Luke Humphries.
He has since become the sport’s Premier League champion and his victory at the prestigious Grand Slam of Darts made him just the fourth player in history to win 10 trophies in one season.
He has been nominated for the BBC prize alongside Olympic skateboarder Sky Brown and para-swimmer William Ellard.
The nominees were announced on BBC Radio 1 Breakfast on Thursday morning, with the winner set to be revealed at the main Sports Personality of the Year ceremony on December 17.
Littler’s Premier League success made him the youngest-ever winner of a PDC title, and his earnings for the year have surpassed £1million.
Littler said: “It’s been an amazing year and to be in the running for Young Sports Personality of the Year tops it off. If I’ve brought more fans to darts, then that’s all that matters to me.”
Sixteen-year-old Brown became a double Olympic medallist in Paris in the summer, winning bronze in the park skateboarding event as she had in Tokyo three years earlier. Her podium finish came despite her aggravating an existing shoulder injury in the preliminary rounds in Paris.
Brown said she was “honoured” to be nominated and added: “Skateboarding has levelled up so much since the last Olympics. I’m so excited to see everyone push even harder and what that means for LA!”
Brown won this BBC award in 2021 at the age of 13.
Eighteen-year-old Ellard’s inclusion on the list is recognition of his performance at the Paralympic Games in Paris, where he won three medals including two golds.
He won the individual S14 200 metres freestyle title and was part of the S14 4x100m freestyle relay team that also took gold. He also won silver in the S14 100m butterfly.
“Some of the greats like Wayne Rooney, Ellie Simmonds, Phil Foden and Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix have won in the past, so to be nominated this year is a special feeling,” Ellard said.
