Still character left in Sports Personality
It is one of the events of the year for anyone who follows British sport, an early Christmas present if you like. Despite the dubious selection process that yielded an all-male shortlist and the bizarre haka that looked more like a Broadway musical number performed by the undead, the 2011 BBC Sports Personality of the Year was a suitably triumphant look at what has been, in the words of main award winner Mark Cavendish, an “alright” year for British athletes.
Cynics might argue that having sportswomen presenting many of the awards, or the cameras focusing in on them at every viable opportunity, was an attempt to make up for the fact that Andy Murray’s stropping his way round the tennis circuit (ok, he sometimes did pretty well) had won him more votes from the sports ‘experts’ (newspaper journalists) than the likes of Rebecca Adlington, Keri-Anne Payne and Chrissie Wellington. Not that I’m taking sides.
English cricket got its triumphant roll-call, winning Team of the Year and Coach of the Year for Andy Flower. Thumping the Aussies down under and thrashing India to take the world number one spot in test cricket, it has truly been a great year for that side. But neither captain Andrew Strauss nor ace batsman Alistair Cook were close to picking up the main award.
That is because cyclist Mark Cavendish was the truly outstanding candidate this year. He won by a huge margin, with 49% of the public vote. This indicates three things. One, Cavendish has had a brilliant year in terms of achievement: winning the green jersey in the Tour de France as he moved onto 20 stage wins in total at the greatest road cycling competition in the world, then powering to World Road Championships victory as part of Team GB – he is simply the fastest man on a bike on the planet, and if he cannot already claim to be the greatest sprinter in cycling history, that will surely come.
But this award is about personality, as well as – or even above – achievement. The second thing Cavendish’s win shows us is that he has grown up. When he made his Tour de France debut in 2007, Cavendish was more petulant schoolboy than champion athlete, blaming his failures on everyone and everything else but him. His sulks affected his performance, making him speedy but inconsistent, and hardly endearing him to his fellow cyclists or indeed cycling fans.
As he has gained experience in competition and in dealing with the media, he has become substantially more likeable. Due to become a father next year, Cavendish now has a personality to match his incredible talent.
Third, it is clear that cycling is no longer a ‘minority sport’. The successes of Sir Chris Hoy, Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish and their compatriots on the road and track have attracted bigger audiences and, in turn, got more people onto the saddle. As more of the British public cycle to commute and for leisure, more attention is being given to the sport.
As Cavendish himself admitted in his victory speech, a few years ago a road cyclist winning this award would have been unheard of. There is hope for the minority sports – women participants included – that at present suffer from too little media coverage.
Behind Cavendish, the inherently likeable Darren Clarke – one of three representatives of another excellent year for British golf – and Mo Farah – the long-distance runner who has already struck gold and is looking to do the same at next year’s London Olympics – took second and third places respectively.
It is a top three that did much to reflect the richness of talent and personality in British sport. And went some way to dispelling the initial outcry and condemnation directed towards this year’s awards. Roll on 2012.
