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Olympic 800 metres champion Keely Hodgkinson has been voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2024.
The award caps a brilliant 12 months for the 22-year-old in which she claimed gold at the Paris Olympics, successfully defended her European title and set a new British record of one minute 54.61 seconds that made her the sixth fastest woman in history.
Darts prodigy Luke Littler came second in the public vote, while England cricket star Joe Root took the third-place prize at Tuesday’s ceremony in Salford.
Hodgkinson’s success makes it an unprecedented four years in a row that the award has been won by a woman, following Mary Earps in 2023, Beth Mead in 2022 and Emma Raducanu in 2021.
After being announced as the winner by Sir Chris Hoy, Hodgkinson said on stage: “This year has been absolutely incredible for me.
“I achieved everything I set out to do on the outdoor track, which is kind of rare, so I’m so grateful to be in this position. Thank you to everyone who voted at home – I hope you all loved watching Paris just as much as I loved competing in it.”
Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows won the coach of the year award after guiding the athlete to glory, and Hodgkinson said: “I’m actually more excited for my coach to be honest, because I wouldn’t be where I am without him and his guidance that I have had since I was 17.”
