One of the less well-known sports betting-themed markets at bet365 Sport is the market for which sporting ace will win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Given that this is a very popular market within UK betting circles, we think it is a good time to take a look at what this major achievement is, who are some of the previous winners and lastly, which sporting stars are in the running to win this year!
And of course, we’ll take a look at the latest betting with bet365 Sport on which of those stars stands the best chance of winning!
But before we do that, let’s first take a look back over 70 years of BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards.
What is the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award?
2023 is the 70th anniversary of the first time the BBC awarded the trophy to a person they felt were particularly outstanding in their sporting field.
With no boundaries regarding sports, the decision encompassed all sporting disciplines and was designed to reward and enhance the profile of some of the UK’s most talented, winning and popular sports stars.
For many years, a panel of experts selected by the BBC, would decide who would finish in the top three positions for the award. However, in more recent times, this process has been replaced by a vote from the Great British public.
Each year the panel decides which sporting stars will be in the vote, and the public can vote for their chosen sporting star in November and December.
The winner is announced in the live BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award show, which this year takes place on Tuesday 19th December 2023 at MediaCityUK in Salford.
Other awards are presented on that evening including Team of the Year, World Sports Star of the Year, Coach of the Year, Unsung Hero Award Winner, Young Sports Personality of the Year and the Helen Rollason award.
Also one personality receives the Lifetime Achievement award.
Who Won Last Year?
The full list of honourees from the 2022 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards were announced as follows:
- BBC Sports Personality of the Year – Beth Mead (Arsenal & England)
- Team of the Year – England’s Women’s Football Team
- Coach of the Year – Sarina Wiegman (England Women’s Football Team Coach)
- World Sports Star of the Year – Lionel Messi (Inter Miami & Argentina)
- Lifetime Achievement Award – Usain Bolt (Athletics)
- Helen Rollason Award – Rob Burrow (Rugby League) (special award for Kevin Sinfield)
- Unsung Hero Winner – Mike Alden (Park Knowle Football Club owner)
- Young Sports Personality of the Year – Jessica Gadirova (Gymnastics)
Who Has Won The BBC Sports Personality Of The Year?
The full list of winners, and the sports for which they won their award are shown below:
- 1954 – Sir Chris Chataway (Athletics)
- 1955 – Gordon Pirie (Athletics)
- 1956 – Jim Laker (Cricket)
- 1957 – Dai Rees (Golf)
- 1958 – Ian Black (Swimming)
- 1959 – John Surtees (Motorcycling)
- 1960 – David Broome (Show jumping)
- 1961 – Sir Stirling Moss (Formula 1)
- 1962 – Anita Lonsbrough (Swimming) – First Female Winner
- 1963 – Dorothy Hyman (Athletics)
- 1964 – Mary Rand (Athletics)
- 1965 – Tommy Simpson (Cycling)
- 1966 – Sir Bobby Moore (Football)
- 1967 – Sir Henry Cooper (Boxing)
- 1968 – David Hemery (Athletics)
- 1969 – Ann Jones (Tennis)
- 1970 – Sir Henry Cooper (Boxing) – First Two-Time Winner
- 1971 – HRH Princess Anne (Eventing)
- 1972 – Dame Mary Peters (Athletics)
- 1973 – Sir Jackie Stewart (Formula 1)
- 1974 – Sir Brendan Foster (Athletics)
- 1975 – David Steele (Cricket)
- 1976 – John Curry (Ice Skating)
- 1977 – Virginia Wade (Tennis)
- 1978 – Steve Ovett (Athletics)
- 1979 – Sebastian Coe (Athletics)
- 1980 – Robin Cousins (Ice Skating)
- 1981 – Ian Botham (Cricket)
- 1982 – Daley Thompson (Athletics)
- 1983 – Steve Cram (Athletics)
- 1984 – Torville & Dean (Ice Dancing)
- 1985 – Barry McGuigan (Boxing)
- 1986 – Nigel Mansell (Formula 1)
- 1987 – Fatima Whitbread (Athletics)
- 1988 – Steve Davis (Snooker)
- 1989 – Sir Nick Faldo (Golf)
- 1990 – Paul Gascoigne (Football)
- 1991 – Liz McColgan (Athletics)
- 1992 – Nigel Mansell (Formula 1)
- 1993 – Linford Christie (Athletics)
- 1994 – Damon Hill (Formula 1)
- 1995 – Jonathan Edwards (Athletics)
- 1996 – Damon Hill (Formula 1)
- 1997 – Greg Rusedski (Tennis)
- 1998 – Michael Owen (Football)
- 1999 – Lennox Lewis (Boxing)
- 2000 – Sir Steve Redgrave (Rowing)
- 2001 – David Beckham (Football)
- 2002 – Paula Radcliffe (Athletics)
- 2003 – Jonny Wilkinson (Rugby Union)
- 2004 – Dame Kelly Holmes (Athletics)
- 2005 – Andrew Flintoff (Cricket)
- 2006 – Zara Phillips (Eventing)
- 2007 – Joe Calzaghe (Boxing)
- 2008 – Sir Chris Hoy (Cycling)
- 2009 – Ryan Giggs (Football)
- 2010 – Sir Anthony McCoy (Horse Racing)
- 2011 – Mark Cavendish (Cycling)
- 2012 – Sir Bradley Wiggins (Cycling)
- 2013 – Sir Andy Murray (Tennis)
- 2014 – Sir Lewis Hamilton (Formula 1)
- 2015 – Sir Andy Murray (Tennis)
- 2016 – Sir Andy Murray (Tennis) – First Three-time winner.
- 2017 – Sir Mo Farah (Athletics)
- 2018 – Geraint Thomas (Cycling)
- 2019 – Ben Stokes (Cricket)
- 2020 – Sir Lewis Hamilton (Formula 1)
- 2021 – Emma Raducanu (Tennis)
- 2022 – Beth Mead (Women’s Football)
Andy Murray is the only 3-time winner of the title, while only Henry Cooper, Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill and Lewis Hamilton have won the award twice.
Which Sporting Stars Are In The Running To Win In 2023?
Top locate the list of options for the winner of BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2023, simply head to the Specials section of the list of sports on bet365 and then click on the United Kingdom option.
From here you should see an option for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year market for 2023.
Here’s some of the favourites to win this year.
- Mary Earps (Women’s Football) – 4/6 favourite
England’s Lionesses goalkeeper has been at the top of her game for many years now, but her performances in the World Cup, including saving a penalty in the final, brought her to a much wider audience. Her principled stand against Nike, to get the England Lionesses goalkeeper kit available for people to buy, won her a lot of fans too. She has already been named as BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year for 2023.
- Stuart Broad (Cricket) – 9/4
One of England Cricket’s most decorated bowlers, Stuart Broad retired from all forms of cricket earlier this years. He played in 167 test matches, 121 One Day Internationals taking 604 test wickets. He finished his career by taking a wicket with his final ball as a bowler for England and also smashing a six over with the final ball he faced as a test batsman, feats unique to Broad in all of cricket.
- Frankie Dettori (Horse Racing) – 10/1
Famous as the man who won all seven races at Ascot in September 1996, Dettori is one of the most recognisable and popular jockeys of his generation. He has ridden in the UK for 35 years, winning 287 Group 1 races, and 23 winners in the classics. He has also been British Flat Racing Champion Jockey on three occasions.
- Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Athletics) – 12/1
After an injury hit period, and a relocation to train in Montpellier, France, Katarine Johnson-Thompson enjoyed a hugely successful return to form. She won the 2022 Commonwealth Games Heptathlon gold in Birmingham and followed that up with her second World Championships Gold medal in Budapest earlier this year.
- Jude Bellingham (Football) – 33/1
After an outstanding club season with Borussia Dortmund, Jude Bellingham established himself as an England regular and one of the most outstanding talents of his generation at the 2022 World Cup and in subsequent European Championship qualifiers for England. At club level, a move to Real Madrid has seen him develop into one of Madrid’s top players and their top goalscorer, as a midfielder aged just 20.
As you can see, Mary Earps is the favourite to win the honour this year and I have to go along with that, but I think Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s achievement also deserves real consideration and she could be a solid consideration if you prefer a longer-odds choice.