BBC Sports Personality of the Year

SPOTY, as I like to call it, is an excellent barometer of sporting celebrity in the UK, and this makes it a rich source for question setters. For this reason also, we list below (in the sections for each individual sport) everyone who's ever finished in the top three.

Superlatives and Uniques

1954	First winner	Athlete		Chris Chataway
1955	Second winner	Middle distance runner		Gordon Pirie
1956	Third winner	Cricketer		Jim Laker
1957	Oldest winner (aged 44)	Golfer – Ryder Cup captain		Dai Rees
1958	Youngest winner (aged 17)	Swimmer		Ian Black
1962	First woman to win	Swimmer		Anita Lonsbrough
1984	Shared the title (the only non–individual winners)	Olympians		Torvill & Dean
1991	The only woman to win in the 1990s	Athlete		Liz McColgan
2006	The only woman to win in the 20th century (up to & including 2019)	Equestrian		Zara Phillips

Most appearances in the top three (5 times, 1981–9)

Steve Davis

The only two members of the same family to win	(1971)		Princess Anne
	(2006)		Zara Phillips

BBC sports presenter, died of cancer in 1999, aged 43: an award for "outstanding achievement in the face of adversity" is given in her honour at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards, and named after her

Helen Rollason

Multiple Winners

1967, 1970	Boxer		Henry Cooper
1986, 1992	Motor racing driver		Nigel Mansell
1994, 1996	Motor racing driver		Damon Hill
2013, 2015, 2016	Tennis player		Andy Murray
2014, 2020	Motor racing driver		Lewis Hamilton

Nationalities

When Lewis Hamilton won SPOTY for the first time, in 2014, he was the first English–born commoner, and the first English man, to win since Andrew Flintoff in 2005.

In the first 53 years of the award (1954–2006) there were only seven non–English winners:

1957	Welsh	Golfer	M		Dai Rees
1958	Scottish	Swimmer	M		Ian Black
1960	Welsh	Showjumper	M		David Broome
1972	Northern Irish	Pentathlete	F		Mary Peters
1973	Scottish	Formula 1 driver	M		Jackie Stewart
1991	Scottish	Middle and long distance runner	F		Liz McColgan
1997	Canadian–born	Tennis player	M		Greg Rusedski

In addition, the runner–up has been English–born on 50 occasions (out of 60) and the third–placed contestant on 40 occasions (also out of 60). (Second and third place were not recorded in 1955 or 1956 – the second and third years.)

As we've already seen, Liz McColgan was the only woman to win in the 1990s.

The eight winners between Flintoff and Hamilton were:

2006	English royal	Equestrian	F		Zara Phillips
2007	Welsh	Boxer	M		Joe Calzaghe
2008	Scottish	Cyclist	M		Chris Hoy
2009	Welsh	Footballer	M		Ryan Giggs
2010	Northern Irish	Jump jockey	M		A. P. (Tony) McCoy
2011	Manx	Cyclist	M		Mark Cavendish
2012	Belgian–born English	cyclist	M		Bradley Wiggins
2013	Scottish	Tennis player	M		Andy Murray

Apart from Greg Rusedski and Bradley Wiggins, the only people who weren't born in the United Kingdom, that have finished in the top three, are:

1964	2nd	New Zealand	Speedway rider	M		Barry Briggs
1966	2nd
1996	3rd	Italian	Flat jockey	M		Frankie Dettori

In 1964 Briggs finished behind the athlete Mary Rand (the 1964 Olympic women's long jump champion, and the first British female to win an Olympic gold medal in track and field), and in 1966 he was beaten by England's World Cup–winning football captain Bobby Moore. Dettori was beaten into third place in 1996 behind Formula 1 world champion Damon Hill and the Olympic rower Steve Redgrave.

Athletes

Athletics has been represented in the top three more often than any other sport: 17 wins, 14 second places and 18 third.

1954	1st	Commonwealth 3–miles gold medallist, and Roger Bannister's pacemaker when he ran the first four–minute mile		Christopher Chataway
1954	2nd	First person to run a mile in less than four minutes		Roger Bannister
1955	1st	After beating the legendary Emil Zatopek in the 10,000 metres at London's White City		Gordon Pirie

Pirie's best moments were yet to come, and 1956 was his greatest year: he set world records for both the 10,000m and the 5,000m (twice), and won Olympic silver in the 5,000m. (In terms of medals, this was his greatest achievement; in Rome in 1960 he was beaten by the heat.)

1957	1st	After taking the world mile record from John Landy, the man who took it from Roger Bannister		Derek Ibbotson
1960	2nd	One of Britain's only two gold medallists at the Rome Olympics (in the 50 km walk)		Don Thompson
1963	1st	Winner of three medals (one gold, one silver, one bronze) at the 1962 European Championships; also runner–up in 1962		Dorothy Hyman
1964	1st	Britain's first female gold medallist in athletics, winning the long jump at the Tokyo Olympics; also won silver in the pentathlon and bronze in the 4 x 100m relay		Mary Rand
1964	3rd	800m gold medallist at the Tokyo Olympics		Ann Packer
1968	1st	Britain's only athletics gold medallist at the Mexico City Olympics (400m hurdles)		David Hemery
1972	1st	Britain's only athletics gold medallist at the Munich Olympics (pentathlon)		Mary Peters
1974	1st	European 5,000m champion; went on to become Vice–President of Nike Europe, and founded the Great North Run; also commentates for BBC TV		Brendan Foster
1975	2nd	Gold medallist at the 1974 Commonwealth Games, in both the 400m and the 4x400m relay; silver medallist in the 4x400m relay at the 1972 Olympics		Alan Pascoe

In retrospect, it's hard to say why Pascoe was so popular in 1975. Described by David Coleman as "one of the really nice men in athletics", he won silver in the 4x400m relay at the 1972 Olympics, and in the 1974 Commonwealth Games he won gold in the 400m hurdles and silver in the 4x400m relay. In his celebratory lap of honour after his individual Commonwealth gold, he knocked over a hurdle, landing awkwardly on his back; then in an effort to regain his dignity he did exactly the same with the hurdle next to the first one. (See it here on YouTube.)

1978	1st	Gold medallist in the 1500m and silver in the 800m at the European Championships; went on to win gold in the 800m and bronze in the 1500m at the 1980 Olympics		Steve Ovett
1979	1st	Set three world records (800m, 1500m and mile) in 41 days		Sebastian Coe
1980	2nd	Olympic 1500m champion (Moscow – also won silver in the 800m)
1981	3rd	Another record–breaking season
1984	2nd	After retaining the Olympic 1500m title and winning silver in the 800m again (Los Angeles)
1978	2nd	Commonwealth decathlon champion		Daley Thompson
1980	3rd	Olympic champion for the first time (of two)
1982	1st	Won the European title to add to Olympic and Commonwealth (in the decathlon)
1983	3rd	Gold medallist in the inaugural World Championships – making him the first athlete to hold the Olympic, World and Continental (in his case European) titles simultaneously
1982	3rd	European and Commonwealth gold medallist in the 1500m		Steve Cram
1983	1st	World Champion; went on to win silver in the Los Angeles Olympics (1984)
1985	3rd	Broke three world records (1500 m, Mile, 2000 m) in 19 days
1986	2nd	European javelin champion		Fatima Whitbread
1987	1st	World champion
1991	1st	Gold medallist in the 10,000m at the World Championships in Tokyo, and winner of the New York Marathon		Liz McColgan
1992	2nd	Olympic champion (100m)		Linford Christie
1993	1st	World champion
1992	3rd	Olympic champion (400m hurdles)		Sally Gunnell
1993	2nd	World champion
1994	2nd	European champion
1994	3rd	European 100m hurdles champion for the secod time (of four); world champion the previous year; Commonwealth champion for the second time; European indoor champion in the 60m and the 60m hurdles		Colin Jackson
1999	3rd	World champion and world indoor champion, both for a second time
1995	1st	World triple jump champion, setting a record that still stood in 2016		Jonathan Edwards
1998	2nd	European and Commonwealth heptathlon champion		Denise Lewis
2000	2nd	Olympic champion (Sydney)
1998	3rd	European and Commonwealth 400m champion; also won European gold in the 4x400m relay		Iwan Thomas
2002	1st	Won the London Marathon at the first attempt, after moving up from the 10,000m, and in the second fastest time ever by a woman; she broke the world record later that year, and was awarded the MBE		Paula Radcliffe
2003	3rd	Broke her own world record, and also set a new world record for the road 10,000m
2004	1st	Double gold medallist (800m and 1500m) at the Athens Olympics		Kelly Holmes
2009	3rd	World heptathlon champion (Berlin)		Jessica Ennis (known from May 2013 as Jessica Ennis–Hill)
2010	3rd	European champion (Barcelona), and World Indoor pentathlon champion (Doha)
2012	2nd	Olympic champion (London)
2015	3rd	World champion (Beijing) – three months after returning to competition following the birth of her baby
2011	3rd	World 5,000m champion (Daegu, South Korea); also surprisingly beaten into second place in the 10,000m; described by David Moorcroft as "the greatest male distance runner that Britain has ever seen"		Mo Farah
2017	1st	World 10,000 metres champion for the third consecutive time
2014	3rd	European 10,000m champion (Zürich)		Jo Pavey
2019	3rd	World 200m champion; also won silvers in the 100m and 4 x 100m relay		Dina Asher–Smith

Boxers

1961	2nd	The 'Golden Boy' of British boxing – in the year he turned professional; his finest hours came in 1967 when he challenged Henry Cooper for the British title and Karl Mildenberger (of Germany) for the European – both unsuccessfully		Billy Walker
1967	1st	The year he successfully defended his British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles against both Jack Bodell and Billy Walker (the year after he lost to both Muhammad Ali – for the second time – and Floyd Patterson)		Henry Cooper
1970	1st	The year of his last two wins – the second to retain his European title against Jose Manuel Urtain of Spain; he had one more fight, in 1971, which he controversially lost on points to Joe Bugner
1974	2nd	The year he won the WBC World Light Heavyweight title		John Conteh
1985	1st	The year he won the WBA World Featherweight title		Barry McGuigan
1989	2nd	Fought Mike Tyson for the WBC, WBA and IBF titles (but lost)		Frank Bruno
1995	2nd	WBC champion after beating Oliver McCall
1999	1st	The year he beat Evander Holyfield to become undisputed world heavyweight champion		Lennox Lewis
2007	1st	WBO, WBA, WBC, The Ring and lineal super–middleweight world champion		Joe Calzaghe
2007	3rd	The year he finally got to fight, and beat, José Luis Castillo (of Mexico) – but then lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr., who described him as "probably one of toughest competitors I've faced"		Ricky Hatton

Cricketers

1956	1st	After taking 19 wickets in a Test match		Jim Laker
1975	1st	In recognition of his heroic resistance of the formidable Australian and West Indian fast bowling attacks		David Steele
1977	2nd	On his return to the England side, after his three–year self–imposed exile		Geoffrey Boycott
1978	3rd	The year he became England's outstanding performer (having made his debut in 1977)		Ian Botham
1979	2nd	Just another year of outstanding performances for England
1981	1st	Hero of England's remarkable Ashes summer
1985	2nd	The year of his first charity walk, from John o'Groats to Land's End
1990	3rd	After a golden summer as both batsman and captain against India and New Zealand		Graham Gooch
2004	3rd	Professional Cricketers' Association player of the year, and inaugural winner of the ICC Award for one–day player of the year		Andrew Flintoff
2005	1st	Star of England's Ashes victory
2019	1st	New Zealand–born star of England's World Cup win, and of the subsequent (drawn) Ashes series		Ben Stokes
2022	1st	After becoming England's Test captain, winning his first series 3–0 (against New Zealand) and the second 2–1 (South Africa, when he was named Player of the Series); and a member of the team that won the T20 World Cup, top scorer in the final

Cyclists

1965	1st	World road racing champion (two years before his death in the Tour de France aged 29)		Tom(my) Simpson
1967	2nd	Women's world road race champion for the second time, setting a new 12–hour time trial record, surpassing the men's record of the time; her record was not beaten by a man for another two years		Beryl Burton
2008	1st	First Briton for 100 years to win three golds at one Olympic Games (Beijing): men's keirin, men's team sprint, men's individual sprint		Chris Hoy
2011	1st	Winner of the green jersey for the highest points classification in the Tour de France; also won the road race at the Road World Championships		Mark Cavendish
2012	1st	First Briton to win the Tour de France; also became Britain's most successful Olympian, winning his sixth medal: gold in the time trial		Bradley Wiggins
2018	1st	After winning the Tour de France (previously won three World Championship and two Olympic golds)		Geraint Thomas

Darts

2010

2nd

PDC world champion for the 13th time (in 16 years); World Matchplay champion for the 11th time (also in 16 years)

Phil Taylor

Diving

2021

2nd

After winning his first Olympic gold medal, and a bronze (to follow bronzes won in 2012 and 2016)

Tom Daley

Equestrians

This section includes show jumping, eventing and horse racing.

1954	3rd	The first woman to break into international show jumping competition; although she was a household name by 1954, her greatest success came in 1956 when she became the first woman to win an Olympic medal for show jumping (bronze)		Pat Smythe
1960	1st	Bronze medallist at the Rome Olympics, and in the World Championships (Venice)		David Broome
1965	3rd	Gold medallist in the Women's World Championships at Hickstead		Marion Coakes
1968	3rd	Individual Olympic silver medallist
1967	3rd	European champion showjumper (4 years before the gesture that made him an icon)		Harvey Smith
1971	1st	European eventing champion, aged 21 (won at Burghley)		HRH the Princess Anne
1972	3rd	Double gold medallist (team and individual) in the Munich Olympics, after an individual gold in Mexico City (1968)		Richard Meade
1973	3rd	Gold medallist in the European show jumping championships at Hickstead		Paddy McMahon
1996	3rd	The year he rode all seven winners on British Champions' Day at Ascot – the richest day in British racing		Frankie Dettori
2002	3rd	The year he surpassed Richard Dunwoody's total of 1699 for the most winners in a National Hunt career		A. P. (Tony) McCoy
2010	1st	The year he won the Grand National for the first time, on his 15th attempt
2013	3rd	The year he rode his 4,000th winner
2006	1st	Eventing World Champion (Aachen)		Zara Phillips
2016	3rd	Britain's second oldest ever Olympic gold medallist, and its first individual show jumping medallist since Anne Moore's silver in 1972		Nick Skelton
2020	3rd	After coming fourth in the Flat Jockeys' Championship – the highest result for a woman to date – and (in the previous year) setting a new record for the number of winners ridden in a British season by a female jockey		Hollie Doyle

Footballers

1958	2nd	Survivor of the Munich air disaster		Bobby Charlton
1959	2nd	Scored hat–tricks for England against USA and Mexico
1958	3rd	Less than a month after the last of his 33 England appearances, in which he scored 30 goals		Nat Lofthouse
1966	1st	Captain of England's World Cup winning team (also finished third in 1970)		Bobby Moore
1966	3rd	The only player ever to score a hat–trick in a World Cup final		Geoff Hurst
1969	3rd	The UK's first real celebrity footballer, at the peak of his powers (born in 1947)		George Best
1971	2nd
1972	2nd	The year he helped Stoke City win the League Cup (still their only major trophy) and reach the semi–finals of the FA Cup, but was forced to retire from English football after losing an eye in a car crash		Gordon Banks
1979	3rd	European Footballer of the Year in 1978 and 1979 (while playing for Hamburg)		Kevin Keegan
1986	3rd	After guiding Liverpool FC to its first double, as player–manager		Kenny Dalglish
1990	1st	Iconic talisman of England's heroic failure in Italia 90		Paul Gascoigne
1991	3rd	The year he won an FA Cup winner's medal – his only major piece of silverware – despite having a goal controversially disallowed, and a penalty saved, in the final		Gary Lineker
1998	1st	Winner of the Young Player Award in the World Cup finals tournament (which included the goal against Argentina, voted in 2013 as England's third greatest goal ever); also finished third in 2001		Michael Owen
1999	2nd	The year that Manchester United won the 'treble' (Premier League, FA Cup and Champions' League); but many English football fans were critical of him, particularly in view of his sending off for retaliation against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup		David Beckham
2001	1st	Became a national hero by scoring the goal that secured England's qualification for the 2002 World Cup
2002	2nd	Scored the penalty that knocked Argentina out of the World Cup finals tournament
2005	3rd	The year Liverpool won the Champions League final on penalties after coming back from 3–0 down; he was named UEFA Club Player of the Year (i.e. the best player in European competitions), and committed his future to Liverpool after negotiations seemed certain to break down; he was PFA Player of the Year for 2005–6		Steven Gerrard
2009	1st	After making his 800th appearance for Manchester United, winning his 11th Premier League title, and being named PFA Player of the Year		Ryan Giggs
2018	3rd	After becoming the second British player to win the Golden Boot at the World Cup finals tournament		Harry Kane
2020	2nd	Captain of the Liverpool team that won the Premier League title for the first time, which made them Champions of English football for the first time for 30 years		Jordan Henderson
2022	1st	Player of the Tournament, and Golden Boot winner, at UEFA Women's Euro 2022 (won by England)		Beth Mead

Golfers

1957	1st	Captain of Great Britain's victorious Ryder Cup team (the USA's only defeat between 1933 and 1985)		Dai Rees
1969	2nd	Open champion 1969 (the only British winner between 1951 and 1985); US Open champion 1970 (the first British winner since 1927; the only non–US winner in the intervening years was Gary Player of South Africa in 1965, and the only one in the next 25 years would be David Graham of Australia in 1981)		Tony Jacklin
1970	2nd
1987	3rd	Order of Merit winner and Player of the Year on the European Tour; first golfer to win more than £1 million in a year		Ian Woosnam
1988	3rd	First–ever British winner of the Masters tournament (starting a run of four)		Sandy Lyle
1989	1st	Second British winner, and first English winner, of the Masters tournament; also European Tour Golfer of the Year (he went on to retain both titles the following year)		Nick Faldo
2006	2nd	2006 wasn't his best year individually, but he was arguably the star of Europe's Ryder Cup victory – just six weeks after the death of his wife. Open Champion in 2011		Darren Clarke
2011	2nd
2014	2nd	Winner of the Open and the US PGA; Player of the Year on both US (PGA) and European tours		Rory McIlroy

Gymnastics

2006

3rd

Britain's first ever world champion (uneven bars)

Beth Tweddle

Motor Sport

1959	1st	After winning the 500cc motorcycle world championship for the third time (of four); went on to be Formula One World Champion in 1964; still the only person to have won world championships on both two and four wheels		John Surtees
1961	1st	Often described as "the greatest driver never to win the World Championship"; 1961 was his last full season, and his 7th consecutive top–three finish. Also finished 2nd in 1957 (the year he demonstrated his mastery of long–distance racing by winning on the longest circuit ever to hold a World Championship Grand Prix – the 16 mile Pescara Circuit, in Italy – and broke five International Class F records in the purpose–built MG EX181 at Bonneville Salt Flats)		Stirling Moss
1963	3rd	Formula One world champion		Jim Clark
1965	2nd	... and again
1964	2nd	Kiwi speedway rider, World Champion for the third time		Barry Briggs
1966	2nd	... and the fourth
1968	2nd	After winning the Formula One championship for the second time		Graham Hill
1973	1st	After winning the Formula One championship for the third time		Jackie Stewart
1976	2nd	After his only Formula One championship title (died of a heart attack in 1993, aged 45)		James Hunt
1977	3rd	Motor cyclist – after retaining the 500cc world championship; also won the 750cc class in 1973		Barry Sheene
1986	1st	Narrowly missed out to his Williams team–mate Alain Prost in the Formula One championship		Nigel Mansell
1992	1st	Formula One champion driver
1993	3rd	IndyCar champion
1994	1st	Finished one point behind Michael Shumacher in the Formula One championship (the first of Schumacher's seven wins)		Damon Hill
1996	1st	Formula One champion driver
1995	3rd	Scottish world rally champion (died in a helicopter crash in 2007, aged 39)		Colin McRae
2009	2nd	Formula One world champion (note that Lewis Hamilton had finished as runner–up in the previous two years)		Jenson Button
2007	2nd	His debut season; he finished one point behind Kimi Raikonnen, and level on points with defending champion Fernando Alonso, but was placed 2nd on count–back		Lewis Hamilton
2008	2nd	Formula One champion driver for the first time
2014	1st	Formula One champion driver for the second time
2018	2nd	Formula One champion driver for the fifth time
2019	2nd	Ditto for the sixth time
2020	1st	Ditto for a joint–record seventh time; also holds the outright records for the most Grand Prix wins (95), pole positions (98) and podium finishes (165)
2017	2nd	World Superbike champion for the third consecutive time, and with a record number of points		Jonathan Rea

Parallel Sports

2000	3rd	Quintuple gold medallist at the Sydney Paralympics (also won 1 bronze in Seoul 1988, 4 golds and 1 silver in Barcelona 1992, 1 gold and 3 silvers in Atlanta 1996, and 2 golds in Athens 2004)		Tanni Grey–Thompson
2017	3rd	World T44 100 metres champion for a second time		Jonnie Peacock

Rowers

1996	2nd	The year he won his fourth Olympic gold medal (Atlanta)		Steve Redgrave
1997	3rd	The year he won his seventh world title, and was diagnosed as suffering from diabetes
2000	1st	The year he won his fifth Olympic gold (Sydney)
2004	2nd	Olympic gold medallist for the fourth time (and the first without Steve Redgrave)		Matthew Pinsent

Rugby footballers

1971	3rd	One half (along with Gareth Edwards) of an iconic half–back pairing; star of the British Lions' victorious 1971 tour of New Zealand – as the Welsh national team entered what was arguably its greatest era		Barry John
1974	3rd	Captain of the most successful ever Lions side (South Africa 1974)		Willie John McBride
1991	2nd	After captaining England to the World Cup final and the first of three Grand Slams		Will Carling
2003	1st	Hero of England's World Cup victory		Jonny Wilkinson
2003	2nd	England's World Cup–winning captain		Martin Johnson
2013	2nd	Player of the Series in the Lions tour of Australia, breaking the Lions points record and the record for most points in one Lions test (both previously held by Neil Jenkins)		Leigh Halfpenny
2015	2nd	The highest points–scorer in Super League history, and the third highest in British rugby league history, behind Jim Sullivan and Neil Fox; was SPOTY runner–up on his retirement, after captaining Leeds Rhinos to their first–ever 'treble' (Challenge Cup, Championship Final, and finishing top of the Super League); in all he captained Leeds to seven Super League championships and two Challenge Cup wins		Kevin Sinfield

Note that Kevin Sinfield is the only Rugby League player in the above list – and the first to appear in the top three of SPOTY.

Sailors

2001	2nd	Finished second in the Vendée Globe solo round–the–world race		Ellen McArthur
2005	2nd	Broke the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation

Snooker players

1982	2nd	After winning the second of his two world titles		Alex Higgins
1981	2nd	World champion for the first time – beating Jimmy White, Alex Higgins, Terry Griffiths, defending champion Cliff Thorburn, and Doug Mountjoy		Steve Davis
1984	3rd	Third world title – first player to retain it at the Crucible
1987	2nd	... and the fourth
1988	1st	... and the fifth (also won the the UK Championship and Masters – the first player to complete snooker's Triple Crown)
1989	3rd	... and the sixth – beating John Parrott 18–3 in the final – a performance described in the Guinness Book of Snooker as "The greatest display of potting, break building and safety play ever seen". By now he was snooker's first millionaire
1990	2nd	After winning the first of his seven world titles, aged 21		Stephen Hendry

Swimmers

1958	1st	17–year–old (Scottish) winner of three gold medals at the 1958 European Championships (Budapest), and a gold and two silvers at the 1958 Empire and Commonwealth Games (Cardiff)		Ian Black
1959	3rd	Set a new world record in the 400–metre individual medley
1960	3rd	One of only two British gold medallists at the Rome Olympics (200m breaststroke)		Anita Lonsborough
1962	1st	Winner of a gold, a silver and a bronze in the European championships (Leipzig) and three golds at the Commonwealth Games (Perth)
1962	3rd	Winner of a bronze medal in the European Championships (Leipzig), and two golds and a silver in the Commonwealth Games (Perth)		Linda Ludgrove
1963	2nd	Silver medallist in the 100m freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics (not sure what he'd achieved in 1963, when he was 19)		Bobby McGregor
1975	3rd	Double gold medallist at the European Championships		David Wilkie
1976	3rd	Britain's first Olympic swimming champion since Anita Lonsborough in 1960 (200m breaststroke)
1988	2nd	Olympic gold medallist in the 100m breaststroke (after being tipped for gold in 1984, but coming 4th)		Adrian Moorhouse
2008	3rd	Double gold medallist at the Beijing Olympics (400m and 800m freestyle)		Rebecca Adlington
2021	3rd	After winning his second Olympic gold medal – the first British swimmer ever to retain an Olympic title		Adam Peaty

Tennis players

1961	3rd	Wimbledon women's singles champion		Angela Mortimer
1969	1st	Wimbledon women's singles champion		Ann Jones
1973	2nd	Wimbledon semi–finalist for the third time (losing to Jan Kodes of Czechoslovakia, who went on to win the final; in 1967 he lost to Wilhelm Bungert of West Germany, and in 1970 to Ken Rosewall of Australia)		Roger Taylor
1977	1st	Wimbledon women's singles champion		Virginia Wade
1997	1st	US Open finalist, Wimbledon quarter–finalist		Greg Rusedski
1997	2nd	After winning his first ATP Tour title and reaching the Wimbledon quarter–finals for the second time (he went on to reach the semi–finals in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002)		Tim Henman
2012	3rd	Olympic men's singles champion; also runner–up at Wimbledon, to Roger Federer		Andy Murray
2013	1st	Britain's first Wimbledon men's singles champion since Fred Perry in 1936
2015	1st	After winning the Davis Cup almost single–handedly; also runner–up in the Australian Open for the fourth time, and won his first two titles on clay
2016	1st	After winning Wimbledon for the second time, and retaining his Olympic title; also runner–up in the French Open
2021	1st	After winning the US Open, becoming the first singles qualifier in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam title		Emma Raducanu

Triathlon

2016

2nd

After retaining his Olympic title, and giving up his chance of winning the final race of the World Series (in Cozumel, Mexico) by helping his brother Jonny across the line

Alistair Brownlee

Winter Sports

1976	1st	Olympic and world figure skating champion – Britain's first Winter Olympics gold medallist since 1960		John Curry
1980	1st	Olympic Figure Skating champion		Robin Cousins
1983	2nd	World ice dance champions for the third consecutive time		Torvill & Dean
1984	1st	Olympic champions (and world champions for the fourth time)
2022	3rd	'Skip' of Great Britain's Olympic gold medal winning women's curling team		Eve Muirhead

© Haydn Thompson 2017–23