BBC Sports Personality of the Year: Contenders for 2014 award

The public can vote for their favourite by phone or online during the programme on Sunday, 14 December

Ten contenders are on the shortlist for the 2014 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.

The public can vote for their favourite by phone or online during the programme on Sunday, 14 December which will be screened on BBC One, with further coverage on BBC Radio 5 live and the BBC Sport website.

Here's a look at the sports stars looking to follow Andy Murray, who collected the award in 2013 after winning the Wimbledon tennis title.

Gareth Bale

Age: 25 Sport: Football

The world's most expensive footballer shrugged off the £85m price tag to enjoy a dazzling debut season at Real Madrid, clocking up 22 goals and 16 assists.

Former Southampton and Tottenham player Bale netted the winning goal in the Copa del Rey final and then became the first Welshman to score in a European Cup/Champions League final.

He was on the mark as Madrid won 'La Decima' - an historic 10th European title. He was also named as the Welsh footballer of the year for a record fourth time and featured in a promising start to the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign.

What he said: "To win those trophies in my first season at Real Madrid was a dream come true."

Did you know? Bale is the first footballer to be shortlisted since 2009, when compatriot Ryan Giggs won the main award.

John Hartson on Gareth Bale: "I think he's up there as one of the best four or five players in the world."

Charlotte Dujardin

Age: 29 Sport: Dressage

She made history by winning two gold medals at the World Equestrian Games - the first British equestrian rider to be Olympic, world and European champion at the same time.

Dujardin, who was born in Enfield and is based in Gloucestershire, picked up gold in the freestyle and grand prix special, plus a silver in the team event on her horse Valegro. At Olympia, she won the London stage of the dressage World Cup and holds the world record in all three elements of her sport.

In November she was named the 2014 Sky Sports/Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year.

What she said: "After London I didn't think it could get much better. I just couldn't have asked for any more."

Did you know? Two equestrian riders have been voted Sports Personality - Princess Anne in 1971 and her daughter Zara Phillips 25 years later.

Carl Hester on Charlotte Dujardin: "Her success has probably been even bigger than the Olympic legacy for British dressage."

Carl Froch

Age: 37 Sport: Boxing

Carl 'The Cobra' Froch retained his IBF and WBA super-middleweight titles against bitter rival George Groves.

After a controversial bout in November last year, the two met again in front of a British record 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in May in a fight that lived up to its hype.

Nottingham's Froch knocked Groves out in the eighth round with a huge right hand that will go down as one of the best punches seen in British boxing history.

What he said: "I've got ingredients you can't teach, ingredients you're born with."

Did you know? Joe Calzaghe, in 2007, was the last boxer to win the award. Fighters have triumphed five times including dual winner Sir Henry Cooper.

Barry McGuigan on Carl Froch: "He is ridiculously tough, with an incredible ability to digest pain."

Kelly Gallagher & Charlotte Evans

Age: Gallagher 29, Evans 23 Sport: Alpine skiing

Gallagher and her guide Evans became the first competitors from the UK to clinch a Winter Paralympics gold medal as they won the visually impaired Super-G in Sochi.

The Northern Irish skier, helped by Kent-based Evans, negotiated the tricky Rosa Khutor course in one minute 28.72 seconds to take gold.

They were awarded MBEs for services to sport for people with a visual impairment.

What Kelly said: "I can't understate how hard it has been. It's been horrible at times. It's so nice to get a good reward for the work we have put in."

Did you know? The pair communicate on their way down the slopes via bluetooth headsets as they travel at speeds of up to 100km/h.

Dame Mary Peters on Kelly Gallagher & Charlotte Evans: "They are amazing - an absolute team."

Lewis Hamilton

Age: 29 Sport: Formula One

After a dramatic season which concluded on Sunday, Hamilton became the first British driver for more than 40 years to win a second Formula 1 world title.

He was engaged in a thrilling and sometimes controversial battle for the crown with his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg but secured the championship with victory in the last race in Abu Dhabi.

Hamilton, who grew up in Stevenage in Hertfordshire, won 11 races during 2014 as he surpassed Nigel Mansell's British record of 31 grands prix victories and helped his team win the constructors' championship.

What he said: "It has been an incredible year. It feels like an out-of-body experience."

Did you know? He was second to Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy in the 2008 Sports Personality poll - after his first F1 title - with swimming champion Rebecca Adlington third.

David Coulthard on Lewis Hamilton: "The drivers who are truly exceptional have something extra. Hamilton, like his childhood hero Ayrton Senna, has that X-factor."

Rory McIlroy

Age: 25 Sport: Golf

Golf's world number one enjoyed a sensational year in which he won two more major titles.

Victory at the Open Championship secured him the third leg of a career Grand Slam and made him the first European to win three different majors in the modern era.

Just weeks later, the Northern Irishman became the first player from the UK to win back-to-back majors by claiming a second US PGA title. He then went on to win three points as Team Europe retained the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.

What he said: "To win my second major this year and a fourth by the age of 25, it's just incredible."

Did you know? Two golfers have been Sports Personality of the Year - Dai Rees (1957) and Sir Nick Faldo (1989)

Graeme McDowell on Rory McIlroy: "He's a great role model and great icon for Europe."

Jo Pavey

Age: 41 Sport: Athletics

Distance runner Jo Pavey left it late but won her first major championship gold medal at the European Championships in Zurich in the 10,000m.

At the age of 40 years and 325 days she became the oldest-ever female European champion. Just 10 days previously she won a bronze in the 5,000m at the Commonwealth Games.

The Devon athlete only returned to the track in May, eight months after giving birth to her second child, when she won the British 10,000m Championships.

What she said: "I've definitely surprised myself. I didn't expect to win any medals - I was breastfeeding at the start of April."

Did you know? Athletics (17) leads the way for Sports Personality winners. The last runner to triumph was Dame Kelly Holmes in 2004.

Paula Radcliffe on Jo Pavey: I'm sure she is an inspiration to a lot of people. She's been an inspiration to me."

Adam Peaty

Age: 19 Sport: Swimming

A medal-laden 2014 saw English swimmer Peaty break into the world elite as he became a double Commonwealth gold medallist and a four-time European champion.

At the Commonwealths in Glasgow he took gold in the 100m breaststroke and 4x100m relay medley, and a silver in the 50m breaststroke.

Peaty, who trains in Derby, did even better in Berlin at the Europeans. He broke the 50m breaststroke world record en route to winning gold in four different disciplines.

What he said: "I felt absolutely amazing (breaking the world record). I looked at the scoreboard about five times before I knew I had broken it."

Did you know? Swimmer Anita Lonsbrough was the first woman to be BBC Sports Personality of the Year, in 1962 .

Mark Foster on Adam Peaty: "He's had a phenomenal year competing against some of the best guys in the world."

Max Whitlock

Age: 21 Sport: Gymnastics

An impressive year for gymnast Whitlock saw him pick up a host of medals from the World, European and British Championships and at the Commonwealth Games.

He equalled the best all-around finish by a Briton at a World Championship by taking silver in Nanning, China.

Whitlock also took gold at the European Championships on the pommel horse and three golds, a silver and a bronze at the Commonwealths.

What he said: "It's been a tough year with three major championships, but it's also been amazing and every success just makes me more motivated."

Did you know? A gymnast has never won the BBC award, although Beth Tweddle made the 2009 shortlist.

Beth Tweddle on Max Whitlock: "He has strength, power and balance - he's got the whole package."

Lizzy Yarnold

Age: 26 Sport: Skeleton

Yarnold dominated the women's skeleton event to win Great Britain's only gold medal of the 2014 Winter Olympics, and just their 10th in Games history.

The Kent slider led the field throughout the four-race event in Sochi, and her winning margin of 0.97 seconds was the largest ever.

She also secured the overall World Cup title in 2013-14, reaching the podium in seven of the eight World Cup races and winning four golds.

What she said: "I'm just so chuffed I'm Olympic champion. As an athlete you do so much hard work, but it's worth it for days like this."

Did you know? Yarnold wasn't born when Britain's last Winter Olympians to win Sports Personality - Torvill and Dean (1984) - triumphed in 1984.

Amy Williams on Lizzy Yarnold: "She is the perfect form lying on the sled - I think she is going to dominate for years to come."