BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year facts for kids
Quick facts for kids BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year Award |
|
|---|---|
| Presented by | BBC Sports Personality of the Year |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| First awarded | 1999 |
| Currently held by | Luke Littler (2024) |
The BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award is a special prize given out each year. It's part of the bigger BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony. This award celebrates young athletes aged 17 or under. It goes to the person who has done the most amazing things in their sport during that year.
Contents
About the Award
This award recognizes incredible talent in young sports stars from the United Kingdom. It highlights their hard work and achievements before they turn 18. Winning this award is a huge honor for any young athlete.
How Winners Are Chosen
Choosing the winner is a careful process. First, a group of judges suggests names. This group includes people from the BBC, the Youth Sport Trust, and even a presenter and a young guest judge from Blue Peter. They also get help from sports experts.
From all the suggestions, they pick a list of ten top young athletes. Later, the judges meet again to choose the top three. Finally, they vote in secret to decide who the winner will be.
A Look Back: Award History
The BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award started in 2001. Before that, there was a similar award called the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Newcomer Award. That award was for athletes up to 25 years old.
Decathlete Dean Macey was the first winner of the Newcomer Award in 1999. Racing driver Jenson Button won it in 2000. Then, in 2001, the Young Sports Personality of the Year award began. Sprinter Amy Spencer was the very first person to win it.
One of the most famous winners is diver Tom Daley. He won the award three times! He took home the prize in 2007, 2009, and 2010. The most recent winner, in 2024, was darts player Luke Littler.
Who Has Won?
Here are some of the amazing young athletes who have won this award over the years.
Early Winners: Newcomer Award
| Year | Winner | Age | Sport | Why they won | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Dean Macey | 21 | Athletics | Amazing decathlon performances, rose to fame at the World Championship. | |
| 2000 | Jenson Button | 20 | Formula One | Finished eighth in his first Formula One season. |
Young Personality Award Winners
| Year | Winner | Age | Sport | Why they won | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Amy Spencer | 16 | Athletics | World under-18 silver medallist in 100m and 200m. | |
| 2002 | Wayne Rooney | 17 | Football | Seen as a very promising English football talent. | |
| 2003 | Kate Haywood | 17 | Swimming | Youngest swimmer for England at Commonwealth Games, won bronze. | |
| 2004 | Andy Murray | 17 | Tennis | Won the US Open juniors title. | |
| 2005 | Harry Aikines-Aryeetey | 17 | Athletics | First sprinter to win 100m and 200m golds at IAAF World Youth Championships. | |
| 2006 | Theo Walcott | 17 | Football | Transferred to Arsenal and went to the World Cup with England. | |
| 2007 | Tom Daley | 13 | Diving | Youngest-ever National Men's Platform Champion. | |
| 2008 | Eleanor Simmonds | 14 | Swimming | Britain's youngest individual Paralympic gold medallist. | |
| 2009 | Tom Daley | 15 | Diving | Won world championships, becoming Britain's youngest world champion. | |
| 2010 | Tom Daley | 16 | Diving | Won two gold medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. | |
| 2011 | Lauren Taylor | 17 | Golf | Youngest winner of the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship. | |
| 2012 | Josef Craig | 15 | Swimming | Youngest British gold medallist at the 2012 Paralympics. | |
| 2013 | Amber Hill | 16 | Shooting | Youngest winner of a senior World Cup in skeet shooting. | |
| 2014 | Claudia Fragapane | 17 | Artistic gymnastics | Most successful English woman at Commonwealth Games in 84 years. | |
| 2015 | Ellie Downie | 17 | Artistic gymnastics | First British woman to win an all-around senior international medal at European Championships. | |
| 2016 | Eleanor Robinson | 15 | Swimming | Won gold and bronze medals at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. | |
| 2017 | Phil Foden | 17 | Football | Best player at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup, which England won. | |
| 2018 | Kare Adenegan | 17 | Wheelchair racing | Broke T34 100m world record and won European Championships. | |
| 2019 | Caroline Dubois | 18 | Boxing | Won 40 boxing matches in a row. | |
| 2020 | Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix | 16 | Diving | Won her first senior international gold medal in diving. | |
| 2021 | Sky Brown | 13 | Skateboarding | Youngest British Summer Olympian, won bronze in skateboarding at 2020 Olympics. | |
| 2022 | Jessica Gadirova | 18 | Artistic gymnastics | Fifth individual British world champion gymnast, first British woman to win a world all-around medal. | |
| 2023 | Mia Brookes | 16 | Snowboarding | Youngest Snowboard World Champion, first Brit to win a snowboard slopestyle world title. | |
| 2024 | Luke Littler | 17 | Darts | Youngest PDC World Darts Championship finalist and youngest winner of Premier League Darts. |
Winners by Sport
This table shows how many times athletes from different sports have won the award.
| Sport | Number of wins |
|---|---|
| Athletics | 4* |
| Diving | 4 |
| Swimming | 4 |
| Artistic gymnastics | 3 |
| Football | 3 |
| Boxing | 1 |
| Darts | 1 |
| Formula One | 1* |
| Golf | 1 |
| Shooting | 1 |
| Skateboarding | 1 |
| Snowboarding | 1 |
| Tennis | 1 |
* This includes one win from the older Newcomer of the Year award.
