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BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award

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BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award
Summary

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FieldValue
nameBBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award
presenterBBC Sports Personality of the Year
countryUnited Kingdom
year
holderThierry Henry (2025)
holder_labelMost recent winner

The BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award is an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. The award is given to a sportsperson "who has made a major impact on the world of sport during their lifetime". The winner is selected by BBC Sport. When football manager Alex Ferguson won the award in 2001, the BBC described the award as "a new accolade" to be presented annually; however, two people had already received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

History

The inaugural recipient of the award was Frank Bruno in 1996, who won it after his retirement from boxing that year. Bruno was the favourite to win the main award in 1995, but lost to Damon Hill, causing many to criticise his Lifetime Achievement Award as being a consolation award. Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros won the award the following year, but after that the award was not presented for three years. The award has been presented annually since Ferguson ended the hiatus in 2001. Five of the eleven recipients have been associated with football; tennis and golf are the only other sports to have been represented more than once. Tennis player Martina Navratilova was the first woman to have won the award. The only recipient of the award on multiple occasions is Ballesteros who won in 1997 and again in 2009, for his contribution to golf winning "the Open three times, the Masters twice as well as playing an inspirational role in the Ryder Cup". The most recent winner, in 2025, was footballer Thierry Henry.

Winners

By year

[[Martina Navratilova]], winner in 2003, was the first female recipient of the award
[[Pelé]], the winner in 2005
[[Sebastian Coe]], the winner in 2012
2016 winner [[Michael Phelps]] has competed in four [[Olympic Games
2017 recipient [[Jessica Ennis-Hill]] was the first female winner since 2003
YearNationalityWinnerSportRationaleRef.PeléThierry Henry
1996BoxingFor his contributions to boxing which include winning the WBC heavyweight title.
1997SpainGolf"In recognition of his outstanding contribution to European golf over the last 20 years."
2001FootballFor a managing career at Manchester United since 1986 which has won seven league titles and "claimed an unprecedented treble of Premiership, FA Cup and European Cup".
2002Football"In recognition of his footballing achievements", which include being named "Footballer of the Year and European Player of the Year in 1968", and winning two championship medals and a European Cup with Manchester United.
2003Tennis"For a trophy-laden tennis career spanning 30 years, (...) winning a record 167 singles titles and an astonishing 329 trophies overall, 140 ahead of her nearest rival."
2004Cricket"For services to cricket" where he played 102 Tests for England in his 15-year career as an all-rounder. During that time he took 383 wickets, which was the highest number for England until 2015 (currently third on the list) and scored 5,200 runs.
2005BrazilFootballFor having a professional career in which "he scored 1,280 goals in 1,363 games" and "made 92 appearances for Brazil, scoring 77 goals" and winning three of the four World Cups he played in.
2006SwedenTennisFor "dazzl[ing] the world of tennis in the 1970s and 1980s, winning 11 Grand Slam titles" including 5 Wimbledon championships.
2007FootballFor "his contributions as both player and manager in a career spanning more than half a century"
2008FootballFor achievements that include helping "England to World Cup success in 1966 and [leading] Manchester United to European Cup glory in 1968, scoring twice in the final".
2009SpainGolfFor his contributions to golf which include winning "the Open three times, the Masters twice (and) playing an inspirational role in the Ryder Cup".
2010FootballFor his playing career as well as his roles in the London 2012 Olympic bid and his central role in attempting to bring the 2018 World Cup to England
2011RowingFor "his huge contribution to rowing, his long and extraordinary career, and his ongoing commitment to promoting sport in the UK"
2012AthleticsFor his role in both London's bid for, and organisation of the hosting of, the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic games.
2014CyclingFor winning six Olympic gold medals, more than any other British sportsperson in history, as well as 11 golds at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships.
2015Horse racingFor an unprecedented career in horse racing, being Champion Jockey for every season of his 20-year professional career and riding over 4,300 winners – including the Grand National, two Cheltenham Gold Cups, three Champion Hurdles and the Champion Chase.
2016SwimmingFor a career in which he has won 23 Olympic gold medals, 3 silver medals and 2 bronzes across 4 games, including a record breaking eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
2017AthleticsFor being one of only 12 British women to win an Olympic gold medal in athletics. Ennis-Hill is the 2012 Olympic champion, three-time world champion and 2010 European champion.
2018TennisFor changing perceptions of what it meant to be a woman in sport following her historic victory in the Battle of the Sexes and for founding the Women's Tennis Association and the Women's Sports Foundation. Winner of 39 Grand Slam titles.
2019Para-athletics
2021Gymnastics
2022JamaicaAthletics
2023Football
2024CyclingFor a career that included a record 35 stage wins at the Tour de France over a 16 year period, as well as winning the road race at the world championships in 2011 and winning the madisonworld championship three times in 2005, 2008 and 2016 on the track.
2025FranceFootballFor "redefining the striker role with his blend of prolific goalscoring, pace and flair, inspiring generations of players and fans" across a career at Arsenal, Barcelona and France and for mentoring young talent, advocating for diversity in sport and championing social causes.

By nationality

NationalityNumber of winsUnited StatesSpainBrazilSwedenJamaicaFrance
15
4
1
1
1
1
1

By sport

This table lists the total number of awards won by the winners sporting profession.

Sporting professionNumber of winsFootballTennisAthleticsCyclingBoxingCricketGolfGymnasticsHorse RacingRowingSwimming
7
3
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

References

General

Specific

References

  1. Haywad, Paul. (11 January 2009). "Wayne Rooney is just like I was. So enthusiastic". [[Independent News & Media]].
  2. (18 November 2008). "Sports Personality voting & judging: Terms & conditions". BBC.
  3. Gibbons, Alex. (6 June 2004). "The highs and lows of Frank Bruno". [[Guardian Media Group]].
  4. (5 September 1995). "Today's Number 1". [[FindArticles]].
  5. (18 December 1996). "To be Frank, this is going down-Hill". [[Daily Record (Scotland).
  6. (22 December 1996). "Bruno backlash". ].
  7. Walters, Mike. (16 December 1996). "Ruddy great Damon". [[Daily Mirror.
  8. (11 December 2009). "Seve Ballesteros to get BBC Lifetime Achievement award". [[BBC Sport]].
  9. Walters, Mike. (18 December 1996). "How did Bruno get an award for...this!; Henry Cooper on the Beeb's sporting blunder". ]}}{{dead link.
  10. (16 December 1996). "Hill wins BBC award for second time". [[Independent News & Media]].
  11. "Rusedski wins sports star of year award". [[Thomas Crosbie Holdings]].
  12. Reade, Brian. (19 December 1997). "Personality bypass for TV turkeys; The column that puts the boot into sport". [[Daily Mirror.
  13. (9 December 2001). "Fergie handed new accolade". BBC.
  14. Silver, Neil. (10 December 2001). "Beckham is chosen by BBC viewers". [[Independent News & Media]].
  15. (2 December 2002). "Best nets lifetime honour". BBC.
  16. Akwagyiram, Alexis. (9 December 2002). "Marathon winner scoops BBC sports award". [[The Guardian]].
  17. (14 December 2003). "Navratilova given lifetime honour". BBC.
  18. Norton, Charlie. (15 December 2003). "Wilkinson and Redgrave scoop top BBC awards". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
  19. (12 December 2004). "Botham: The entertainer". BBC.
  20. (11 December 2005). "Sports Personality: The winners". BBC.
  21. (11 December 2005). "Pele and Mourinho win BBC awards". BBC.
  22. (10 December 2006). "Sports Personality: The winners". BBC.
  23. Broadbent, Rick. (12 December 2006). "Borg backs irrepressible Murray to end British grand-slam drought". [[The News International]].
  24. (9 December 2007). "Robson humbled by lifetime award". BBC.
  25. Millward, Robert. (10 December 2007). "England's Bobby Robson honored for lifetime achievement in soccer". [[Gannett Company]].
  26. (14 December 2008). "Charlton given BBC Lifetime award". BBC.
  27. Roughley, Gregg. (14 December 2008). "BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2008 – as it happened". [[The Guardian]].
  28. (18 December 2010). "David Beckham to be given Lifetime Achievement award". BBC.
  29. (22 December 2011). "BBC Sport – Sir Steve Redgrave given BBC Lifetime Achievement award". BBC News.
  30. (16 December 2012). "Lord Coe receives BBC Lifetime Achievement award". BBC.
  31. (2014-12-14). "Sports Personality 2014: Sir Chris Hoy receives lifetime award – BBC Sport". Bbc.co.uk.
  32. (17 December 2015). "AP McCoy to be honoured with Lifetime Achievement award at BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2015". BBC.
  33. (19 December 2016). "BBC Sports Personality 2016: Michael Phelps to be given lifetime achievement award". BBC.
  34. (17 December 2017). "BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2017: Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill gets Lifetime Achievement award". BBC.
  35. (16 December 2018). "Sports Personality of the Year: Billie Jean King given lifetime achievement award". BBC.
  36. (15 December 2019). "Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson given Lifetime Achievement award". BBC.
  37. (18 December 2021). "Sports Personality 2021: Simone Biles honoured with Lifetime Achievement award". BBC.
  38. (15 December 2022). "Sports Personality of the Year: Usain Bolt wins Lifetime Achievement award". BBC.
  39. "Dalglish given BBC Lifetime Achievement award". BBC Sport.
  40. "Cavendish wins BBC Lifetime Achievement award". BBC Sport.
  41. "Thierry Henry will be honoured with the lifetime achievement award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards 2025".
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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