2012 Sports Personality Of The Year
The BBC Sports Personality of the Year award always attracts plenty of attention in the pre-Christmas TV schedule. As the media looks back over the year in terms of news, culture and sport the public have an opportunity to get really involved in choosing the outstanding sportsman of the year. If you want to take a bet on the outcome, consider the free bets on offer from UK bookmakers which can be used to bet on all sporting events including the 2012 Sports Personality of the Year.
The 2011 awards were marred by controversy as no sportswomen were nominated. Following this major faux pas, the BBC is currently reviewing the process by which finalists and winners are selected. The nominee list will be announced later this year but, one thing is for sure, it will include women this time.
In 2011, the Sports Personality of the Year award was made to Mark Cavendish, World Road Race Champion and Tour de France green jersey winner, who won 49.5% of the vote with golfer Darren Clarke in second place (12% of the vote), and 5000m World Champion runner Mo Farah in third (9%of the vote). The bookmakers did a pretty good job of predicting the outcomes last year, correctly forecasting the placing of all three of these winners.
In 2012, however, the outcome may be exceptionally difficult to forecast, with the added dimension of the 2012 Olympic Games to factor in. The poster girl for the London Olympics is undoubtedly star heptathlon Jessica Ennis. She is currently and emphatically at the top of the leader board, with best betting odds of 4/1 from bookmaker Paddy Power.
She is in excellent form just now, beating her rival and world champion, Tatyana Chernova, last weekend at the Hypo meeting. The victory compensates for her failure to defend her world indoor and outdoor titles and she remains chipper about her chances of success in London, saying of her position as favourite “I really hope it’s an advantage. It’s nice that ... that I was able to win and I was in good shape. It’s proved to me I’m where I need to be. This close to the Games it’s a good place”. She further comments that “I really don’t think you can just put a clear favourite out there”. A poor performance at the 2012 Olympic Games would certainly diminish her chances of gaining the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, and it is likely that her odds will be re-assessed after completion of the Games.
The situation is similar for long-distance runner, Mo Farah. He came third in the 2011 awards but is now positioned at second place for this year, with best odds of 9/1 from Totesport, for example. Other Olympic contenders who may be good bets for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year include sailor Ben Ainslie currently celebrating his winning his 6th Finn World Championship Gold Cup at betting odds of 14/1 from bookmaker Boyle Sports, and 2008 Olympic success, swimmer Rebecca Adlington at the same odds also from Boyle Sports. Interestingly, diver Tom Daley who is subject to enormous publicity just now in light of his recent winning form at the European Championships in Eindhoven, is rated lower as a contender with odds of 25/1 from bookmaker Ladbrokes.
Cyclist Bradley Wiggins is reckoned to be a contender for the award with odds of 14/1 from bookmaker Coral, although it does seem unlikely that a cyclist will win for a second year running, particularly in view of the fact that track cyclist Sir Chris Hoy won recently in 2008 also.
The nominees will be announced later this year, with the winner selected by a public vote during the live show in December. The winning sportsman will join an illustrious list of recent winners including cyclist Mark Cavendish (2011),jockey Tony McCoy (2010), footballer Ryan Giggs (2009) and cyclist Chris Hoy (2008). If you are interested in sports and would like to have a stake in the outcome of the vote, consider making a bet. If you wish to access a free bet on the outcome, you can go online to your preferred bookmaker via this site.