BBC Young Sports Personality 2018: Kare Adenegan wins award

Teenager Adenegan wins Young Sports Personality

Para-athlete Kare Adenegan has been named the 2018 BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year.

The 17-year-old set a world record in the T34 100m, and later in the year became European champion.

Adenegan was announced as the winner at the Radio 1 Teen Awards in London.

Swimmer Freya Anderson and jockey James Bowen were also on the final shortlist for the award, previously won by the likes of footballer Wayne Rooney and tennis player Sir Andy Murray.

Adenegan, who won a silver and two bronzes at the Rio Paralympics, set the world record at the London Anniversary Games in July, beating long-time rival and five-time Paralympic champion Hannah Cockroft.

Her time of 16.80 seconds eclipsed Cockroft's old mark of 17.18.

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Kare Adengan set a new T34 100m world record at the Anniversary Games

The Coventry Godiva Para-athlete won her first gold medal in senior competition the following month as she took the World Para-athletics European title in Berlin - again beating Cockroft - and took silver in the T34 800m.

The top three contenders were picked from an original list - shortlisted by an expert panel - that also included Max Burgin (athletics), Jack Draper (tennis), Georgia-Mae Fenton (gymnastics), Anna Hursey (table tennis), Georgia Roche (rugby league), Ryan Sessegnon (football) and Maisie Summers-Newton (Para-swimming).

Tickets for this year's BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony, held at Birmingham's Genting Arena on Sunday, 16 December are on sale now.

About BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year

The BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year is awarded to an outstanding young sportsperson who was aged 17 or under on 1 January 2018.

The shortlist and winner is selected by a panel that includes BBC presenters, current and former sports stars, and two representatives of the Youth Sport Trust.

Judging panel

  • Greg James (Radio 1 presenter)

  • Adele Roberts (Radio 1 presenter)

  • Radzi Chinyanganya (Blue Peter presenter)

  • Lizzy Yarnold (double Winter Olympic gold medallist)

  • John Inverdale (BBC Sport presenter)

  • Katharine Merry (Olympic athlete)

  • Mark Schwarzer (former footballer)

  • Mark Foster (former Olympic swimmer)

  • Claudia Fragapane (gymnast)

  • Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson (11-time Paralympic champion)

  • Two representatives from the Youth Sport Trust.

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