Lewis Hamilton wins 2020 Sports Personality of the Year

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Hamilton wins Sports Personality of the Year 2020

Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has won BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2020.

Coming first in a public vote, he beat Liverpool football captain Jordan Henderson who came second, and horse racing jockey Hollie Doyle who came third.

The Sports Personality award winner is the sportsperson, judged by the public, to have achieved the most during the year.

And, Hamilton has had an incredible sporting year, equalling a record of seven Formula One world titles. that he now shares with racing legend Michael Schumacher.

He has also overtaken Schumacher to the most F1 race wins, making Hamilton the most successful driver in the sport's history.

Boxer Tyson Fury, England cricketer Stuart Broad and snooker great Ronnie O'Sullivan were also nominated for the main award.

"I want to say congratulations to all the incredible nominees," said Hamilton. "I'm so proud of what they have achieved and I want to say thank you to everyone that has voted for me.

"I wasn't expecting this knowing there's so many great contenders.

"I want to say Merry Christmas to everyone - it's been such an unusual year and I want to mention all the front line workers and all the children round the world, I want you to try and stay positive through this difficult time, I'm sending you all positivity. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Hamilton's success
  • In terms of championships, Hamilton is now in joint first place with Michael Schumacher on seven titles.

  • This is a fourth consecutive title for Hamilton (2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020). The record of consecutive F1 championships belongs to Michael Schumacher who won five titles in a row between 2000 and 2004.

  • It is also Hamilton's sixth title in seven years.

It is the second time Hamilton has been crowned Sports Personality of the Year, having first won the award in 2014.

He is also a four-time runner-up, most recently losing out to cricketer Ben Stokes in 2019.

If you can't see the quiz, try this link.

Liverpool

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Sports Personality: Klopp named Coach of the Year & Liverpool Team of the Year

Liverpool football club were given the award of team of the year, having won their first league title in 30 years back in June.

The Reds' manager Jurgen Klopp also won the Coach of the year award having led the team to their first Premier League success and 19th top division title since the 1989-90 season.

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Liverpool fans celebrate the moment they're crowned champions

"My team deserve this, because they did an incredible job," said Klopp. "It's a mix of talent, character, desire and the power of the club, which is a big one. That all comes together and it was a great moment when we became champions.

"We want to organise a big party when it's allowed again, could take a little while but until then maybe we can win something else, we will see. We can't wait to see the fans again and winning this prize in Manchester is even sweeter."

German Klopp, 53, arrived at Anfield in 2015 with Liverpool 10th in the Premier League, but in the five years since has guided the club to four trophies, including the Champions League title in 2018-19.

Marcus Rashford

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Sports Personality of the Year: Marcus Rashford receives Expert Panel Special Award

Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford was given a special award for his work to raise awareness of child food poverty in the UK.

Rashford successfully campaigned for the government to extend free school meals during the coronavirus pandemic.

It resulted in about 1.3 million children in England being able to claim free school meals vouchers during the summer holidays.

Another government policy change that Rashford asked for, saw the government announce more than £400m in November to support poor children and their families in England.

Young Unsung Hero award

Image source, Danny Lawson / PA
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Tobias Weller racing with Olympic legend Jessica Ennis-Hill

Nine-year-old Tobias Weller won the first Captain Tom Young Unsung Hero prize at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year show.

Tobias has cerebral palsy which means his brain has trouble communicating with his muscles and needs to use a walking frame.

He also has autism, which affects how a person communicates and interacts with the world around them.

During the first UK lockdown earlier this year, he decided to walk 50 metres every day on his street in Sheffield.

Tobias managed to walk for 70 consecutive days and, by increasing his distance each day, completed a full 26.2 mile marathon.

But he was not finished there. In the summer, he set out on a second marathon, this time using a race runner that allowed him to run for the first time in his life.

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Captain Sir Tom Moore wins Helen Rollason award

Meanwhile Captain Sir Tom Moore, the 100-year-old hero of the pandemic received a special award, The Helen Rollason Award recognising outstanding achievement in the face of adversity.

In April, the veteran raised more than £32m for the NHS by walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday.

What did you think of SPOTY? Did your fave win? Let us know in the comments.