Jude Bellingham and Luke Littler are among the six nominees for the 2024 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. The pair have both been named on the shortlist for the first time, with the winner to be revealed at a ceremony in Manchester on Tuesday, December 17.
Also in contention are Olympic gold medalistists Keely Hodgkinson and Alex Yee, Joe Root, and Dame Sarah Storey.
It follows an incredible breakthrough year for Littler, 17, which saw him make the PDC World Championship final on his Ally Pally debut last January.
He's since been crowned the Premier League champion and last month captured his first major televised ranking title at the Grand Slam of Darts. The teenage sensation has taken to X to react to the news, insisting he was shocked to be nominated.
"This is MADDDD," he wrote. "First young sports personality and now sports personality of the year… huge thank you to BBC Sport for nominating me, never thought I would be saying that."
Bellingham meanwhile, helped Real Madrid win the La Liga title and the Champions League, contributing 23 goals across all competitions. The 21-year-old also scored twice on England’s route to the final of Euro 2024 in Germany, including a sublime bicycle kick against Slovakia.
His displays saw him finish third in the Ballon d’Or voting, the highest position by an English player since Frank Lampard was second in 2005. Bellingham was also named as La Liga Player of the Season and Champions League Young Player of the Season, and collected the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year award.
Hodgkinson, 22, claimed 800 metre gold in Paris Olympics to secure Team GB’s first Olympic track title since Mo Farah’s 5000m and 10,000m double in Rio in 2016. That followed her retaining her title over the same distance at the European Championships.
Yee, 26, also won Olympic gold alongside a world title. In France he produced an exhilarating sprint finish to overtake New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde, and then formed part of the British team that won bronze in the mixed relay.
Root's nomination also comes after a record breaking year, during which he surpassed Alastair Cook’s mark of 12,472 runs to become England’s leading scorer in Test cricket with a career best 262 against Pakistan. He’s now fifth on the all-time list of Test run scorers and on the weekend, scored his 36th century in the five day format to help England seal a series win in New Zealand.
Alex Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport, said: "It’s a fantastic shortlist. All six of them have kept us on the edge of our seats this year, showing us how sensational they are. I’m looking forward to reliving each of their successes on the night and finding out who audiences want to be crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024.”
Other awards being presented on the night are Sports Personality of the Year, World Sport Star of the Year, the Helen Rollason Award, Young Sports Personality of the Year, Unsung Hero, Coach of the Year, Team of the Year, and the Lifetime Achievement award. Votes will be cast by the public on the evening of December 17.