Sports Personality of the Year: Beth Mead wins top prize but Kevin Sinfield earns massive praise with special award

The 27-year-old played a crucial part in England’s triumph at Euro 2022, scoring six goals and providing five assists. She was also chosen as UEFA’s player of the tournament.

She won the BBC public poll ahead of England Test cricket captain Ben Stokes and Olympic curling champion Eve Muirhead. The other nominees on the six-person shortlist were gymnast Jessica Gadirova, 1500 metres world champion Jake Wightman and seven-time world snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Mead is the 13th individual female winner of the award, with Jayne Torvill also claiming it as part of her ice dance partnership with Christopher Dean in 1984. She is also only the sixth footballer to win the award in its 68-year history.

She said: “I’m incredibly honoured to win this award. I wouldn’t have done it without those girls over there and the team that have backed me. Yes, I’ve got this accolade, I did my job, I scored a few goals but I wouldn’t have done it without them.

“And I certainly wouldn’t have done it without my mum, my dad and all my family.

“But most of all, this is for women’s sport, and for women’s sport heading in the right direction. So let’s keep pushing girls and let’s keep doing the right thing.”

Her victory completed a hat-trick of awards for the Lionesses on the night, as the squad were voted Team of the Year for their Euros triumph with Sarina Wiegman collecting the Coach of the Year award.

Sinfield's former Leeds Rhinos team-mate Rob Burrow had earlier won the Helen Rollason Award for his efforts in raising awareness of MND. He was diagnosed with the life-limiting and incurable condition in 2019.

The award comes less than a month after former Scotland rugby union star Doddie Weir, a friend of Burrow’s and the winner of this award in 2019, died after his own battle with MND.

Burrow was then joined on stage by Sinfield, who was presented with a special award by Weir’s son Hamish in recognition of his fund-raising to support MND research and awareness.

Sinfield raised more than £7million by running seven marathons in seven days in 2020 and ran a further 300 miles from Edinburgh to Manchester to raise even more last month.

Burrow said: “I’m totally overcome with this award due to the amount of amazing people that have won this before, in particular my MND hero Doddie Weir.

“What a fantastic guy he was. I don’t think I would be here today without meeting him less than a week into my diagnosis.

“I am inspired to keep going by my friend Kevin Sinfield, the guy who made the impossible possible.

“My family as a whole have put their life on hold to care for me, especially my beautiful wife Lindsey and my amazing kids.

“Lindsey did not expect to sign up for this but she puts me first and foremost I’m not here without a sacrifice. This is for all the MND warriors out there, we will not stop (trying) to find a cure.”

Earlier in the evening, Usain Bolt, who won the Olympic 100m and 200m titles at three successive Games between 2008 and 2016, was chosen as the Lifetime Achievement award winner.

The 36-year-old Jamaican still holds the world record at both those distances.

“For me it’s an honour to be amongst the greats who have received this before like Pele, Muhammad Ali,” Bolt said in a message to the awards ceremony from Jamaica.

“For me these guys are some of my favourite athletes and I look up to them. Also, I want to thank my family, my friends and the fans for everything throughout the years. I’ve worked hard and to get this award means a lot.”

Gymnast Jessica Gadirova won the BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year prize on Wednesday evening.

The 18-year-old, who is also on the six-person shortlist for the main Sports Personality of the Year award to be voted on by the public later, won floor gold at the World Championships in Liverpool, alongside silver in the team competition and bronze in the individual all-around.

She won the award ahead of skateboarder Sky Brown and diver Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix.

Lionel Messi’s World Cup success with Argentina was recognised as he won the World Sport Star of the Year award.

The England women’s football team won the Team of the Year award after their stunning Euro 2022 triumph, while Sarina Wiegman was confirmed as Coach of the Year.

Wiegman only began her stint in charge of England team in September 2021, having led her home country the Netherlands to the same title in 2017.

Mike Alden from Bristol was chosen as the recipient of the Unsung Hero award.

Alden was diagnosed with brittle bone disease at the age of four years old, but refused to let it be a barrier to him playing football and he now coaches at Park Knowle FC in the city.