It’s the most wonderful time of the year … Spoty season! Britain’s sporting hero or heroine of 2023 has been whittled down to six nominees by a panel of judges including the Euro 2022 winner Ellen White, the former Olympian Colin Jackson and the Paralympian Ellie Simmons. The winner, decided by a public vote, will be crowned at Tuesday’s ceremony, with Clare Balding, Gary Lineker, Gabby Logan and Alex Scott presenting live from Manchester as the award celebrates its 70th anniversary. Here are the six nominees.
Mary Earps
The bookies’ favourite to become just the 15th solo female winner, a win for Earps would see a second consecutive award for a Lioness, after Beth Mead claimed the 2022 prize. While personality is not a qualifying factor for Spoty, Earps has it in spades: she was standout performer to help England to the World Cup final, where she produced one of the most iconic sporting moments of the year, brilliantly saving a penalty from Spain’s Jenni Hermoso before promptly yelling ‘fucking yes, fuck off!’ as the cameras zoomed in on her euphoric face. There was uproar when the 30-year-old’s England goalkeeping shirt was not made available by Nike before and during the World Cup. More than 170,000 people signed a petition in protest, and Nike later reversed its decision, with the £100 jersey selling out in hours.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy’s return to form has been a welcome one, even if his major drought is now going to be extended to a 10th year. The Northern Irishman fell agonisingly short at the US Open, one shot behind winner Wyndham Clark, but has had plenty of on-course success. McIlroy hit arguably the shot of the year – a 2-iron into wind to 10 feet – to make birdie and win the Scottish Open on the 72nd hole, while his flawless performance in the Ryder Cup led Europe to a tearful victory over the USA. McIlroy’s return to the No 1 ranking in February has added weight to his off-course comments against LIV and the civil war that has engulfed golf in 2023, where he has become a leader, talisman and elder statesman of the game at 34.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson
Is Katarina Johnson-Thompson the best all-round athlete in the world? The Liverpool-born heptathlete won her second world title in August, a most unlikely comeback after injury – a torn achilles and torn calf – blighted the last few years of her career. But the British public love an underdog story and Johnson-Thompson delivered lifetime bests in the shot put and javelin to claim victory. The 30-year-old is now targeting her first Olympic gold next year in Paris but knows from experience the pitfalls of elite sport, symbolised by her tattoo of a blue shell from the Mario Kart game over her achilles scar. “When life is going too well, a blue shell can always be hovering around the corner to take you out,” she explained.
Frankie Dettori
Speaking of comebacks, here comes Frankie, British horse racing’s adopted son turned father figure. The Italian jockey is one of only two non-Brits to have scaled the Spoty podium (with New Zealand speedway star Barry Briggs, who was second twice in the 1960s). In the past Dettori has never got closer than his third-place finish in 1996. In 2023, Dettori has had a wild year to match his persona: a farewell tour, a retirement U-turn, and a victorious and dramatic final hurrah at Champions Day at Ascot (where his newly-built statue now stands), prevailing in the Champion Stakes in his final ride on British soil, adding to his wins in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, the Coronation Cup triumph at Epsom and two Classics victories.
Alfie Hewett
In terms of titles won, Hewett is the runaway leader here. The wheelchair tennis player is a phenomenon, winning seven singles tournaments, including two majors, and only narrowly missing out on a third grand slam title at Wimbledon. Ranked No 1 in singles, he and Gordon Reid also claimed three of the four doubles majors on offer in Australia, France and SW19, while Hewett played a pivotal part in Great Britain’s World Team Cup glory. Already an OBE at the age of 26, Hewett could become the first para-athlete to win Spoty – Tanni Grey-Thompson and Jonnie Peacock finished third in 2000 and 2017 respectively.
Stuart Broad
Sporting legacies are not just constructed by scores, numbers and titles but moments and memories, especially in cricket: Andrew Flintoff consoling Brett Lee at Edgbaston, Shane Warne’s Ball of the Century, Monty Panesar and Jimmy Anderson’s last-wicket stand. Broad cemented his own legacy with a stunning farewell in the final Ashes Test after the shock announcement of his retirement. Having scored a six with his last ball as a batter, he took the final wicket of the match to give England victory, ending with 604 career Test wickets. Broad did not have a perfect year, but few can doubt his legend in an England shirt and there were no finer finishes than at the sun-drenched Oval in July.
A spot of bother …
Spoty has always been contentious. Roger Bannister was snubbed in the first-ever award in 1954 for his pacemaker, Chris Chataway. This year, similarly, there were some omissions from the main shortlist that caused a stir. Josh Kerr, Britain’s remarkable 1500m world champion, told the Guardian last week he was “massively disappointed” not to be nominated. The World Athletics president, Seb Coe, was slightly more forthright: “Are you having a laugh, Spoty?” he tweeted. Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham has a claim after becoming arguably the best male footballer in the world, while Ronnie O’Sullivan celebrated his eighth UK snooker championship three days before his 48th birthday, making him both the youngest and oldest winner of the event.
Follow it live with Barry Glendenning at theguardian.com or watch on BBC One from 7pm GMT on Tuesday, iPlayer or the BBC Sport website. To vote, scan the QR code on screen during the broadcast or vote online here. The main award will be presented around 9pm GMT.
