Sports Personality 2021: Raducanu, Sterling, Peaty, Daley, Storey and Fury on shortlist

Whether it's a smash, a splash, a right hand or a right boot, cycling or swimming - it's now up to the public to decide who wins the 2021 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.

Six stars have been named on a shortlist - all in contention to win the award.

The nominees are diver Tom Daley, boxer Tyson Fury, swimmer Adam Peaty, tennis player Emma Raducanu, footballer Raheem Sterling and Paralympic cyclist Dame Sarah Storey.

Voting will be open during the show on BBC One on Sunday, 19 December.

Other awards to be announced include Young Sports Personality of the Year, Team and Coach of the Year, World Sport Star of the Year, Lifetime Achievement and Unsung Hero.

Emma Raducanu

In September, Emma Raducanu won the US open, ending a 44-year wait for a British women's Grand Slam singles champion.

The 19-year-old was also the first qualifier to win the title and didn't drop a set all tournament.

In the summer, while awaiting her A-level results, the teenager first emerged as a star at Wimbledon, ranked at 338 in the world she got to the fourth round of the competition.

Fun Fact: Emma Raducanu loves Formula One and motor sports! As a child she was the only girl in her group who would go karting or take part in motocross. Her Instagram grid features old photos of her on a motocross bike as a child.

Raheem Sterling

Sterling was one of England's star players as the Three Lions made it to the European Championship final, which they lost on penalties to Italy at Wembley.

The Manchester City forward scored three goals at the tournament, including the first goal during England's historic win over Germany in the last 16.

Sterling also scored 10 Premier League goals for City as they won the title for the third time in four years.

Fun Fact: Ten years ago, at that age of just 16, Raheem was included in the Liverpool squad for the first time, but only because he was on his half-term break from his school at the time!

Tom Daley

At his fourth Olympic Games in Tokyo, Tom Daley finally became an Olympic diving champion, alongside I'm a Celeb contestant Matty Lee in the synchronised 10m platform event.

Aged 27, Tom Daley has been competing on the world stage since he was a schoolboy.

Daley also won bronze in the men's 10m platform to become the first British diver to claim four Olympic medals.

Fun Fact:Tom Daley is also a keen knitter and has been seen knitting needles in hands while watching events at poolside.

Sarah Storey

Dame Sarah Storey won her 17th Paralympic gold medal in Japan, becoming Great Britain's most successful Paralympian of all time.

Storey's gold was her third of the Tokyo Paralympics - her eighth Games since making her debut in Barcelona in 1992 as a 14-year-old swimmer.

Dame Sarah also holds the para world record in the women's 3,000m individual pursuit, having broken her own previous record at the Tokyo Games.

Fun Fact: Sarah used to be a county table-tennis champion as an under 13 and under 16!

Tyson Fury

Boxer, Tyson Fury is an unbeaten fighter who won a 11-round contest against American Deontay Wilder this year to retain his World Boxing Council (WBC) title belt in Las Vegas.

Fury who is 33 is considered to be one of the best boxers of his generation. He came back to the sport in 2018 after taking a more than two year break and has spoken publicly about his battles with his mental health.

Fun Fact: Fury got his first name Tyson after Mike Tyson, who was boxing heavyweight world champion at the time he was born.

Adam Peaty

Adam Peaty became the first British swimmer to defend an Olympic title after winning the 100m breaststroke gold in Tokyo during the summer.

He was also part of the Great Britain mixed 4x100m medley relay gold winning team and won silver in the men's medley relay line-up.

Away from sport, Adam Peaty also took part in this year's Strictly Come Dancing.

Fun Fact: As a child, the Olympic swimmer was scared of water and wouldn't even let his parents put him in the bath!

Last year, Formula One's Lewis Hamilton won the award after he equalled Michael Schumacher's record of seven Formula One world titles. in 2020.

Gary Lineker, Clare Balding, Gabby Logan and Alex Scott will present the 68th Sports Personality awards.

The programme, filmed at Media City in Salford, will celebrate 12 months of incredible sporting action, which featured the Olympics and Paralympics.

The public can vote on the night for the main award, with full details announced during the show.