BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award[1] is an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. The award is given to a sportsperson "who has made a major impact on the world of sport during their lifetime". The winner is selected by BBC Sport.[2] When football manager Alex Ferguson won the award in 2001, the BBC described the award as "a new accolade" to be presented annually;[3] however, two people had already received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
| BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award | |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Presented by | BBC Sports Personality of the Year |
| First award | 1996 |
| Most recent winner | Thierry Henry (2025) |
History
The inaugural recipient of the award was Frank Bruno in 1996, who won it after his retirement from boxing that year.[4] Bruno was the favourite to win the main award in 1995, but lost to Damon Hill,[5] causing many to criticise his Lifetime Achievement Award as being a consolation award.[6][7][8] Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros won the award the following year, but after that the award was not presented for three years. The award has been presented annually since Ferguson ended the hiatus in 2001. Five of the eleven recipients have been associated with football; tennis and golf are the only other sports to have been represented more than once. Tennis player Martina Navratilova was the first woman to have won the award. The only recipient of the award on multiple occasions is Ballesteros who won in 1997 and again in 2009, for his contribution to golf winning "the Open three times, the Masters twice as well as playing an inspirational role in the Ryder Cup".[9] The most recent winner, in 2025, was footballer Thierry Henry.
Winners
By year
| Year | Nationality | Winner | Sport | Rationale | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 |  United Kingdom |
Frank Bruno | Boxing | For his contributions to boxing which include winning the WBC heavyweight title.[10] | [11] |
| 1997 |  Spain |
Seve Ballesteros | Golf | "In recognition of his outstanding contribution to European golf over the last 20 years."[12] | [13] |
| 2001 | United Kingdom |
Alex Ferguson | Football | For a managing career at Manchester United since 1986 which has won seven league titles and "claimed an unprecedented treble of Premiership, FA Cup and European Cup".[3] | [14] |
| 2002 | United Kingdom |
George Best | Football | "In recognition of his footballing achievements", which include being named "Footballer of the Year and European Player of the Year in 1968", and winning two championship medals and a European Cup with Manchester United.[15] | [16] |
| 2003 |  United States |
Martina Navratilova | Tennis | "For a trophy-laden tennis career spanning 30 years, (...) winning a record 167 singles titles and an astonishing 329 trophies overall, 140 ahead of her nearest rival."[17] | [18] |
| 2004 | United Kingdom |
Ian Botham | Cricket | "For services to cricket" where he played 102 Tests for England in his 15-year career as an all-rounder. During that time he took 383 wickets, which was the highest number for England until 2015 (currently third on the list) and scored 5,200 runs.[19] | [19] |
| 2005 |  Brazil |
Pelé | Football | For having a professional career in which "he scored 1,280 goals in 1,363 games" and "made 92 appearances for Brazil, scoring 77 goals" and winning three of the four World Cups he played in.[20][21] | [21] |
| 2006 |  Sweden |
Björn Borg | Tennis | For "dazzl[ing] the world of tennis in the 1970s and 1980s, winning 11 Grand Slam titles" including 5 Wimbledon championships.[22] | [23] |
| 2007 | United Kingdom |
Bobby Robson | Football | For "his contributions as both player and manager in a career spanning more than half a century"[24] | [25] |
| 2008 | United Kingdom |
Bobby Charlton | Football | For achievements that include helping "England to World Cup success in 1966 and [leading] Manchester United to European Cup glory in 1968, scoring twice in the final".[26] | [27] |
| 2009 | Spain |
Seve Ballesteros | Golf | For his contributions to golf which include winning "the Open three times, the Masters twice (and) playing an inspirational role in the Ryder Cup".[9] | [9] |
| 2010 | United Kingdom |
David Beckham | Football | For his playing career as well as his roles in the London 2012 Olympic bid and his central role in attempting to bring the 2018 World Cup to England | [28] |
| 2011 | United Kingdom |
Steve Redgrave | Rowing | For "his huge contribution to rowing, his long and extraordinary career, and his ongoing commitment to promoting sport in the UK" | [29] |
| 2012 | United Kingdom |
Sebastian Coe | Athletics | For his role in both London's bid for, and organisation of the hosting of, the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic games. | [30] |
| 2014 | United Kingdom |
Chris Hoy | Cycling | For winning six Olympic gold medals, more than any other British sportsperson in history, as well as 11 golds at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships. | [31] |
| 2015 | United Kingdom |
AP McCoy | Horse racing | For an unprecedented career in horse racing, being Champion Jockey for every season of his 20-year professional career and riding over 4,300 winners – including the Grand National, two Cheltenham Gold Cups, three Champion Hurdles and the Champion Chase. | [32] |
| 2016 | United States |
Michael Phelps | Swimming | For a career in which he has won 23 Olympic gold medals, 3 silver medals and 2 bronzes across 4 games, including a record breaking eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. | [33] |
| 2017 | United Kingdom |
Jessica Ennis-Hill | Athletics | For being one of only 12 British women to win an Olympic gold medal in athletics. Ennis-Hill is the 2012 Olympic champion, three-time world champion and 2010 European champion. | [34] |
| 2018 | United States |
Billie Jean King | Tennis | For changing perceptions of what it meant to be a woman in sport following her historic victory in the Battle of the Sexes and for founding the Women's Tennis Association and the Women's Sports Foundation. Winner of 39 Grand Slam titles. | [35] |
| 2019 | United Kingdom |
Tanni Grey-Thompson | Para-athletics | [36] | |
| 2021 | United States |
Simone Biles | Gymnastics | [37] | |
| 2022 |  Jamaica |
Usain Bolt | Athletics | [38] | |
| 2023 | United Kingdom |
Kenny Dalglish | Football | [39] | |
| 2024 | United Kingdom |
Mark Cavendish | Cycling | For a career that included a record 35 stage wins at the Tour de France over a 16 year period, as well as winning the road race at the world championships in 2011 and winning the madisonworld championship three times in 2005, 2008 and 2016 on the track. | [40] |
| 2025 |  France |
Thierry Henry | Football | For "redefining the striker role with his blend of prolific goalscoring, pace and flair, inspiring generations of players and fans" across a career at Arsenal, Barcelona and France and for mentoring young talent, advocating for diversity in sport and championing social causes. | [41] |
By nationality
| Nationality | Number of wins |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom |
15 |
 United States |
4 |
| Spain |
1 |
| Brazil |
1 |
| Sweden |
1 |
| Jamaica |
1 |
| France |
1 |
By sport
This table lists the total number of awards won by the winners sporting profession.