2010 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award
The 2010 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, held on 19 December, was the 57th presentation of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards. Awarded annually by the BBC, the main titular award honours an individual's British sporting achievement over the past year. The winner is selected by public vote from a 10-person shortlist. Other awards presented include team, coach, and young personality of the year.
Award process
The ten sportspersons on the award shortlist was drawn up by a "panel of 30 sports editors from national and regional newspapers and magazines", and announced on 29 November 2010. As a preview to the awards, the nominees were interviewed for Sports Personality of the Year: The Contenders, a special edition of BBC One's Inside Sport, presented by Gabby Logan and broadcast on 13 December 2010. The award ceremony was held on Sunday 19 December at the LG Arena in Birmingham, and was broadcast live on BBC One, presented by Sue Barker, Gary Lineker and Jake Humphrey. The winner was decided by a public telephone vote during the ceremony.Nominees
The nominees and their achievements in 2010 as described by the BBC, and their share of the votes cast were as follows:| Nominee | Sport | 2010 achievement | BBC Profile | Votes |
| AP McCoy | Horse racing | Riding Don't Push It to win the 2010 Grand National at the 15th attempt, having won more races than any jump jockey in history | ||
| Phil Taylor | Darts | Becoming the World Darts Champion for a record 15th time by winning the 2010 PDC tournament in January 2010, doing a double 9-Dart Finish in the 2010 PDC Premier League Darts and winning a further six major titles during the year | ||
| Jessica Ennis | Athletics | Winning the gold medal for the Women's Heptathlon at the 2010 European Athletics Championships in Barcelona, Spain | ||
| Lee Westwood | Golf | Becoming the new World Number One male golfer after a successful 2010 season, replacing the long time leader Tiger Woods | ||
| Graeme McDowell | Golf | Becoming the first European winner of the U.S. Open since 1970, scoring 284 at the 2010 tournament at Pebble Beach, California | ||
| Tom Daley | Diving | Winning two gold medals for the Men's Diving at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India | ||
| Mark Cavendish | Cycling | Winning five stages of the Tour de France, followed by taking 3 stages and the Points Jersey in the Vuelta a España | ||
| Amy Williams | Skeleton | Winning the Gold Medal for the Women's Skeleton at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, the first British individual winter gold medal in 30 years | ||
| Graeme Swann | Cricket | For his spin bowling for England against Bangladesh and Pakistan, and in the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 competition | ||
| David Haye | Boxing | Making two successful defences of his WBA World Heavyweight Championship belt, against John Ruiz on 3 April, and Audley Harrison on 13 November |
Winner
The winner was announced as jockey Tony McCoy. 15 time world champion darts player Phil "The Power" Taylor was runner up, with world and European heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis voted third.Other awards
As part of the 2010 ceremony, awards were also to be presented for:- Team of the Year: Ryder Cup team
- Coach of the Year: Colin Montgomerie
- Overseas Personality: Rafael Nadal
- Young Personality: Tom Daley
- Helen Rollason Award: Frank Williams
- Unsung Hero Award: Lance Haggith
- Lifetime Achievement: David Beckham