Legendary Lioness Beth Mead has been named 2022 BBC Sports Personality of the Year after her hand in leading England to the Euro 2022 crown.
The 27-year-old SPOTY favourite was named Player of the Tournament at this year's European Championship after her six goals and five assists saw England 'bring it home'. The Lionesses earned England's first major trophy since the men's team won the World Cup in 1966, finally ending the nation's 56 years of hurt.
Mead beat a heady field of competition to Wednesday's top prize, including England cricket captain Ben Stokes, Olympic curler Eve Muirhead, gymnast Jessica Gadirova, 1500-metre world champion Jake Wightman and snooker star Ronnie O'Sullivan.
Mead pipped Muirhead, who finished third, and Stokes who came home in second. Just moments earlier, she had watched on as her Lionesses side won the Team of the Year award.
"I'm speechless for one," said Mead, who was the bookies' favourite to take the gong. "I did my job and scored a few goals but I wouldn't have done it without them [her England team-mates]. This is for women's sport and women's sport heading in the right direction."
As well as Mead taking the main prize of the evening and England winning the Team of the Year award, Sarina Wiegman added to the silverware as she was named Coach of the Year. The "humbled" England boss said: "Over 17 million people watched our games, that's making change in society – now little girls are walking around with the names of our players on the back of their shirts."
England cricketer Stokes, who finished as runner-up, was unable to attend the ceremony due to picking up a stomach bug and was forced to watch on TV. "I landed in the country this morning," he said from home. "It's been an amazing three months and Pakistan (whitewash Test victory) was another progression.
"Hopefully this Test team will keep striving to break records. It was an opportunity when I took the job to allow people to play the game with complete freedom and not worry about failure."
Gadirova, may have missed out on the top prize, but she still took home some silverware in the form of the Young Sports Personality of the Year award. The teenaged world champion saw off competition from skateboarding Olympian Sky Brown and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, diver Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix.
Before the main prize, there was an emotional moment as Rob Burrow was given the Helen Rollason award. The rugby league legend, who suffers from Motor Neurone Disease (MND), was joined on stage by his old team-mate and great friend Kevin Sinfield, who has done so much to support and fundraise.
Sinfield was himself recognised with the Special Award, for raising more than £1.8million for MND research with an ultra marathon challenge inspired by his ex-Leeds Rhinos team-mate. "The world of rugby have got behind what we've tried to do so I want to dedicate this award to them," he said.
Meanwhile, Burrow said his award was in honour of Doddie Weir who he labelled his '"MND hero". He said: "What a fantastic guy he was and I will accept the award on his behalf. This is for all the MND warriors – we will not stop until we find a cure."
The Unsung Hero award, presented by Denise Lewis and Jonny Peacock, was given to Mike Alden. He was born with brittle bone disease and formed Park Knowle FC – a club based in a deprived area of Bristol which is open to anyone of any age and ability, with teams for boys, girls, veterans and disabled players.
Internationally, the Lifetime Achievement award went to sprinting legend Usain Bolt. The Jamaican won eight Olympic golds across three different Games in Beijing, London and Rio, before retiring in 2017. "It's an honour to be amongst the greats who have achieved this award before like Pele and Muhammad Ali," he said from home.
And the World Sports Star award went to Lionel Messi. The footballing icon finally won the World Cup with his country Argentina this month after beating France on penalties after an epic final in Qatar. The Paris Saint-Germain forward was not in attendance to collect his prize.
Full list of BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2022 prize winners
- Sports Personality of the Year – Beth Mead
- Young Sports Personality of the Year – Jessica Gadirova
- Team of the Year – England Lionesses
- Coach of the Year – Sarina Wiegman
- Unsung Hero – Mike Alden
- Lifetime Achievement Award – Usain Bolt
- World Sport Star – Lionel Messi
