2011 BBC Sports Personality of the Year

COMMENTATOR: Gold this time Forfar Farah. A landmark moment for

British sport and Andy Murray. Cavendish has won the world title.

England have won their first series in Australia for 24 years. Open

champion, congratulations Darren Clarke. That is a won derl --

wonderful achievement for Alastair Cook. Dai Greene wins for Britain.

That is very special. A touch of genius. Usain Bolt - unstoppable!

Ladies and gentleman, please welcome your hosts for tonight's

show - Sue Barker, Jake Humphrey and Gary Lineker.

Thank you very much and welcome to the BBC Sports Personality Of The

Year 2011, live from our studios here in Salford. It should be quite

a night. It's the 58th year of the awards and it's a pleasure to be

joined by you at home and by some of the greatest names in sport, who

are here with us to look back at another incredible 12 months.

the next two hours, we'll relive the must-see moments from the

sporting year and hand out eight awards with the highlight being the

crowning of the BBC Sports sports. Who will that special somebody be.

In a moment we'll reveal the all- important numbers. First let's see

our ten contenders for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Let's hear it for cycling sprint APPLAUSE

APPLAUSE Ashes hero, Alastair Cook.

Golf's world number one, Luke Running man, Mo Farah.

Hurdling hero, Dai Greene. Boxing superstar, Amir Khan.

US Open winner, Rory McIlroy. Sadly unable to be with us tonight,

tennis ace, Andy Murray. And cricket's captain fantastic,

Andrew Strauss. Ladies and gentleman, our

contenders for the 2011 BBC Sports The phone lines are now open. To

vote for your Sports Personality Of vote for your Sports Personality Of

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 99 seconds

view on the red button. What a short list. Please get voting. It's

an all-male line up for the first time since the introduction of a

top-ten short list for the award and not an easy choice for you at

home. It's been a vintage year for home. It's been a vintage year for

British sport. British women have made a huge contribution. We'll

reflect on their achievements throughout this show. Let's open

our innings tonight with cricket. England's women continue to top the

world rankings and for the first time, our men also officially

became the best Test side on the planet and got their hands on this,

it's nice isn't it, an incredible achievement. To tell us just how

they did it, here's a man who more than played his part, Lamont

Peterson. -- Kevin Pietersen With history

comes expectation, pressure. Deal with it.

So what if the game was born here. It doesn't give you more runs. Take

more catchers or wickets. No team has a divine right to succeed. You

have to earn it. So we've not won the Ashes in Australia for over 20

years. So what? Last Time Out, we lost every match. So what? There's

your motivation, an opportunity to rewrite the record books. It's one

out! Make your own mark on history. And England have won their first

series in Australia for 24 years. So what if India are the number one

ranked Test team. There are big names here. Respect them - sure.

Fear them - no chance. Tend ulkar's out. So what if we've never been

the best Test team in the world. Not once in all those years. We are

now. It feels good, huh?. History rewritten. So the pressure's off

now, right? Get real. That sounds like fighting talk, alongside me a

man who helped in that fight to bring the Ashes back home Stuart

Broad. You have the urn with you. I have to say in the flesh, it

doesn't look like much, to you, to the team, to every English cricket

fan, this means the world. course, a lot of blood, sweat and

tears goes into this. It's a stepping stone to get to the best

team in the world an we managed that. Bearing in mind that your

captain and coach are behind you, what do you put this up to? A lot

of hard work. We know our roles in the team. We keep things very

simple and we got some talented players. It's been really enjoyable

to play. The guys have done brilliantly. Your coach has said

tonight is the night to let your hair down, do you need

encouragement? No! That's what we've heard. A wonderful year for

you and the team, ladies and gentleman, Stuart Broad.

Our first contender is a young man who this year managed one of golf's

all-time major come backs, after letting the Masters sensationally

slipped, he returned to the States to win the US Open. He's from

Hollywood, Northern Ireland, but his story could be made into an

action-packed blockbuster. What a year for Rory McIlroy. He's an

unbelievable talent. Definitely one of the best young players I've ever

seen. He enjoys the game. He loves the sport. Fantastic guy. Humble, I

love his attitude. I met him and I love golf. I always love it how he

plays. If there was ever a golf course built for Rory McIlroy it's

Augusta. His performance the first few rounds this year were

exceptional. COMMENTATOR: She's straightening,

Rory leads by four. The events that transpired are tough for anybody to

take. COMMENTATOR: This is becoming a

nightmare. He's unraveling. It was a really tough moment. I suffered a

lot with him. COMMENTATOR: My goodness me,

McIlroy, he's gone. Probably he'll look back in years to come as a

defining moment in his career. I imagine Rory learned a lot that day.

This is the second major of the season, it is the US Open. How he

came back after that tough situation, then to win, a big

champion like him can do it. remember watching the highlights of

the day and trying to work out what golf course Rory McIlroy was

playing. He was on a different stratosphere from the rest of us

that week. It was kind of dream stuff, really. So many birdies. He

putted phenomenally. If I wasn't going to defend my title, I can't

think of anyone else I would have liked to win the trophy.

COMMENTATOR: McIlroy becomes the youngest winner for 88 years.

one of the most likeable players in the world. That's remained the same

as he's become a superstar. level that he played golf that four

days is something that will be very Ladies and gentlemen, US Open

champion, Rory McIlroy. APPLAUSE

Sorry about the flames, is that why you wore the goggles? Not quite, no.

Fantastic comeback. Amazing. One of the greatest in the sporting year,

for sure. Start with the Masters. You had the lead going into the

last day and it went wrong. Why do you think that happened? I wasn't

ready. I wasn't ready to win. It was obviously a very tough day, a

very disappointing day for me on the golf course and I learnt a lot

about myself. I learnt a lot about my game and luckily I was able to

rectify all the problems and put it right at the next Major. Golf has a

funny way of giving you the challenge that you have perhaps

just failed, and it happened in two Majors and there you were, big lead.

It must have crossed your mind, what happened in Augusta? Of course,

you get a great start. Basically I was in the same position going into

the last day. Had a little more of a lead. Obviously, parts crept back

into my head and I had to try to eliminate them in some way and just

thankfully I was able to do it. Certainly was sensational. I guess

all you need to do now is do what the partner's doing, the girlfriend,

number one in the world. Can't let her outdo you? Definitely not. Next

year it's a big goal of mine to try to get closer to Luke, who is

number one at the minute. I'm sure it's a big goal of his to win a

Major as well, so I'm going to be practising hard and working hard

and trying to do that. You are our first contender. Ladies and

gentlemen, Rory McIlroy. APPLAUSE

Coming up - a city united. We have Roberto Mancini live. We'll also

announce this year's Overseas Personality and Miranda makes a

racket for Sport Relief. Our first award is very special to us here,

as it's presented in memory of our beloved colleague, Helen Rollason.

She died 12 years ago from cancer. The award recognises courage and

achievement and like so many of the past winners, this year's recipient

has all of those qualities and more. 30 years ago he game a national

treasure and his story was made into a film. He's an inspiration to

us all and an outstanding fundraiser, a champion in every

sense of the word. National Hunt jockeys live with danger. It

defines them. But being told you have cancer is a hard fall. In

racing they know more than most about inevitability, the power of

probability over luck, well Bob Champion knew the odds and took a

punt on himself. Now a rank outsider to live. They kept

complaining the treatment is making me feel ill, not the disease.

you ever feel like giving up? a couple of times. I went to look

around the kids' ward actually and I thought well if they can go

through with it, why can't I? Chemotherapy left him sick and

hopelessly weak, but he fought on sustained by a dream. In 1981 that

dream came true. Just 20 months after starting treatment, Bob

climbed back in the saddle and aboard his beloved ald neatity. He

-- Aldaniti. He beat the odds and made history. His epic journey from

the pit of despair to winning the world's greatest steeple chase

touched the hearts of millions and changed countless lives forever.

date, his Trust has raised over �10 million in the fight against cancer.

But to the countless sufferers around the world who face similar

odds, perhaps his greatest legacy is hope. To present the award,

alongside Bob's close friends and family is the current Sports

Personality of the Year, AP McCoy. Ladies and gentlemen, the 2011

Helen Rollason Award goes to Bob Champion.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 99 seconds

MUSIC Your Royal Highness, ladies and gentlemen, it's really an

honour to be here, especially having this award, because Helen

was such a great lady and I promise you, but getting the award from

Tony here, I only wish I was half as good as him and I would have

ridden a lot more winners, but I really would like to thank Jeanette,

my family and friends, especially my sister, who stood by me

throughout all my treatment, Aldaniti's owners Nick and Valda,

but Josh Gifford, I was written off and everybody said I was finished,

but he stood by me and as you see, we game good on the right day, so I

was very, very lucky, but most of all, people out there that have

supported myself and the cancer trust, this award should be really

for you. I must thank you all very, very much, the thousands and

thousands of people who have supported me. I hope you carry on

supporting me and the Trust and with a bit of luck every little bit

of money going to it gives me like me a chance of living. Thank you

very much. Good a great evening. Happy Christmas.

APPLAUSE Ladies and gentlemen, Bob Champion.

APPLAUSE In cycling a Manx man stole all the

headlines. After flying to five stage victories in the Tour de

France, he became the first Briton to win the green Jersey and he hit

the road again and was crowned world champion. 2011 was a real

tour deforce for Mark Cavendish. has become a real British icon.

Many my eyes he's probably the best sprinter that's ever been around.

born winner. He's just got that aura about him. Mark Cavendish wins

the stage. We grew up together, racing against each other. He

turned up in his shellsuit and he had a big sticker that he had with

Goldfinger on it. He lives near me and goes into the same bike shop

that I frequent, not that I'm anywhere in his league whatsoever.

I would imagine he would leave me standing. I don't British cycling

were going to keep him on at one point, because he was pretty chubby

and he liked the chips, but he kept on winning races. I'm world

champion. He has a desire for winning and he demonstrated that in

the Tour de France. The green Jersey is the pinnical and it's the

biggest bike race in the world. It's brutal. It's the whole wanding

to get to Paris and wanting to win in the sham sham. Cavendish will

get it. I can't see him giving up. The world championship in Denmark,

fantastic victory for Great Britain. We were all in it together, corking

for Cav. We knew we had the fastest guy in the world on our team.

Cavendish has won the world title. What can I say, just phenomenal.

What is very nice about him is how much gratitude he was giving to his

team-mate. My team rides all day and I have to finish off. They

buried themselves into the ground. He didn't want to let us down more

than anything. That's Cav to a tee really. Please, welcome Mark

Cavendish APPLAUSE

Five stage wins in the toughest race of all and then the world road

race championship. Not a bad year? No, it was all right, you know!

Yeah, the two hardest goals I could possibly set for myself in a year,

but I was incredibly lucky and I had great guys supporting me and we

achieved them both, so we can look back on the year pretty well.

certainly can. You are chasing Mercks's record, that's 40. Doable?

I'm not chasing records, but it's definitely doable. On average five

stage wins in the last four Tour de Frances is not really been done

before, so considering things carry on how they are going, it should be

possible, but try to win what we can. You have a new addition on the

way? Yeah. I'm having a baby girl. It's a girl? We need a few of them

on the show. It's good. I tell you something, like, any - I can

achieve anything in my sport, but the feeling of pride won't come

close to feeling from that. Absolutely. Look ago head to the

year coming up, big year again. Tour de France and then followed

six days later by the opening day of the Olympics. You could win

Britain's first gold, no pressure? I thrive off it. I will -- I was

speaking to Sir Steve Redgrave before and you look at how the team

rode together and I'm pretty confident we can go and get Great

Britain off to the best start possible. We certainly wish you all

the best for that and next year, good luck to you. Ladies and

gentlemen, Mark Cavendish. APPLAUSE

Because I always feel like running. Usain Bolt has false started. It's

silver for Jessica Ennis. He has to settle for silver. It's Jamaica

leading with Usain Bolt flying. The world record! Hannah England is

sweeping through. She is in second place. Hannah England moves from

seventh to the silver medal position. Bolt starts to surge.

19.42 seconds. The fastest time in the world this year. Some of the

headline makers there from the championships in Daegu, where after

overcoming many hurdles on the track and in life our next

contender struck gold. He's been described as the model athlete with

the model attitude. 2011 was certainly a model year for Dai

Greene. It's a great feeling when you see your best friend, someone

you've known all your life, winning things and taking on the best in

the world. It's a brilliant thing to see. Knowing his nature you have

sort of always thought he had something in him. Very, very tough

mentally. He still do the ironing in our house, because I refuse to

do it. You say you can't make a world champion iron, but I can!

you know him he has that very strong competitive nature, which

means he will not give up. He's had to overcome quite a lot of injuries

really. Broke his collarbone and knees. Injections in his shins. And

his toe. I've had five years of dealing with it too. It was a shock

when he had epilepsy. I don't think he ever thought of giving up. All

the problems over the years, it It was difficult to fit it all in.

He worked at McDonald's. He had so many knockbacks before. You thought

oh, is he ever going to get that chance? To really run well at the

400 hurdlds, you have to be very disciplined. You have to be able to

stay calm under pressure. He's ready to challenge the world.

nerves were really close to not being able to handle it. We're all

standing up. Couldn't sit down, couldn't bear to. I was thinking,

has he got it in him to pull this back.

COMMENTATOR: Here's the chance for Greene to seize the moment. Greene

wins! Dai Greene is the world champion! Proved us all wrong again.

Please welcome Dai Greene. As we heard there, you've overcome

epilepsy, injuries and a lot of funding as well. The road to

success really hasn't been an easy one, has it? Had t hasn't been.

With a background like that, I think I should audition for X

Factor next year. I've had good people around me I think. That's

just helped know stay positive. I have a great girlfriend and family.

You saw them on the clip. Without them I wouldn't be here. Talking of

your girlfriend, she's just told everyone that you dot ironing. Did

you iron that tonight? I tried to. I didn't want anyone to bring

attention to it, but now thanks... She did it. Take us back to the

Gold Medal, you were the only one out there. Talk us through the

final stages, coming up to the eighth hurdle, did you think it was

going to be gold? I always believed I could win. In an individual sport

you have to have that mind set. At that point I thought, you've given

them way too much, you have to get your bum in gear. I had to push on

the home straight. The best part of my race is the tail end. It always

looks dramatic for the fans. It was dramatic. European champion,

Commonwealth communicate, world champion. You know what's coming

next. You seem to embrace the pressure of London 2012. I live for

the big competitions. That's what I train for. If I have the complete

set next year, I can kick back and retire and maybe co-host next year,

Sue! Absolutely, you've got the job. Well done, congratulations on a

fantastic year. Dai Greene, everybody.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 99 seconds

Remember to get the bill payer's Please do dial carefully. You don't

want to get the wrong one. The second award tonight is for the

young Sports Personality Of The Year voted for by a BBC panel,

which included remembertives from the Youth Sport Trust. Amongst

those to have won in the past include Wayne Rooney, Andy Murray

and John Inverdale. Not a bad list. Who -- Tom Daley. To present it

this year is Jessica Ennis and Roberto Mancini. Thank you for

coming. Just missed out on gold this year Jessica, in your thoughts

now, obviously the Olympics surely. Yeah very excited, training hard

and you know, you learn a lot from the mistakes you make. So I'm just,

I have that drive and motivation to make everything go right this year.

We wish you all the very best. Roberto I'll talk to you a little

later. Before we announce the winner, let's look at the top three

Lucy Gp -- Garner is a phenomenon. She was the road race champion and

won two golds at the youth Commonwealth Games. Eleanor

Simmonds made another big plash in the pool this year. She won four

medals and set two new world records.

Lauren Taylor proved herself to be a major new driving force in golf.

The 17-year-old created history becoming the youngest player ever

to win the ladies British Open Amateur Championship. Jess, if you

would be as kind to tell us the winner.

And the Young Sports Personality Of Many congratulations. I'm sure

you'd like it say a few words. this is such an honour to win this

award. There's a few thank yous I'd like to make. Firstly, to English

women's golf association for all their support. Secondly to my

special supporters at Woburn Golf Club. I wouldn't here without your

help. Next my coach Andy Dunbar for all the hard work we put in. He's

got me that trophy there. I'd like to thank my family and friends,

especially my dad, hi dad! He caddied for me in the Open this

year. Also the Amateur Championship. It was a special moment when I won.

Finally, I'd like to thank the RGU for putting on fantastic events

throughout the year. Thank you very much. Have a great evening. Lauren

Remember that name. Our next contender is a man who when it

comes to talent is a real heavyweight N2011, a boxer from

Bolton because a double light welterweight champion. He was brave

enough to travel to the States and lay his belts on the line.

Amir Khan. My first impression of Amir was

that he was going to be special. A great fighter inside the ring. Also

special outside the ring. Being a person who kids can look up to.

known Amir since he was a young boy. When he first started coming to the

gym where I worked. He grew up in this area, one of the worst areas

in Bolton. This is the Community Centre. Amir Khan paid for this

place out of his own pocket. It's massively important because without

this place I think the crime rate would start rising. We have 200,000

people here. That's huge. This is what sets Amir Khan aside from the

rest. He's an inspiration. He wants to make a difference. You see

people change when they become successful. Not Amir Khan. If he

sees an old person struggling with bags, and I know this, because I've

seen it myself, he will stop "Can I take you home with your bags?" I've

never seen anybody work as hard in or outside the ring. He is all

COMMENTATOR: Amir Khan is the new union nied light welterweight

champion in the world. He will be the best pound for pound in the

world one day. COMMENTATOR: Two boints deducted.

On our cards we think he's done enough. It's a monumental upset.

Defeats are actually a good thing for Amir Khan. We all know that he

can bounce right back up and become world champion once again.

He's been able to accomplish so much at such a young age. I have to

rank him as the number one guy. knows what he wants to achieve.

What he doesn't realise himself is what he has achieved.

Ladies and gentleman, please I've always wanted to do that. What

a reception tonight. Throughout the day I've been trying to work out

your sporting year in my head, for the first time in your career, you

had two world tight nlz your hand. Before the year was out, they've

both gone. How much does that inspire you to get into 2012 and

get the belts back? I know how it feels to have two world titles. I

really want a rematch. I know I was robbed against Lamont Peterson.

Hopefully I can come back stronger. 2012 is a big year for me. I can

come back and get my belts back and hopefully move up to the next

division. Two things that stand out from Oscar De la Ho ya talking

about you there, he said defeats aren't a bad thing for you. He

thinks you can beat the best pound for pound in the world. He knows

talent when he sees it. I train very hard day in, day out. I live

in Los Angeles when I'm training for a fight. That's just me. I love

working hard rgs fighting hard. I love putting on good performances.

Oscar says it there, he sees talent out there. All I have to do is go

out there and win fights and look good against my opponents. 2012 is

a big year for me. I want to fight the likes of Floyd Mayweather.

is going to be good and only a few days away, good news for all of us.

Well done and everything you do in those gyms in Bolton is very

impress. Ladies and gentleman, one He's the new world number one in

every sense, Novak Djokovic. Petra Kvitova is the Wimbledon champion.

Congratulations to Petra Kvitova another wonderful Wimbledon. At the

US Open, 17-year-old Oliver Golding won the boils' title to emulate

what the next contender did seven years ago. Since 2004 this super

Scot has got better and better. In 2011 he had us enthrauted, winning

five turnaments and reaching the last four in the Grand Slams. He is,

of course, Andy Murray. Excellent year. He's lifting himself to, in

the same conversation with some of the all-time greats, Nadal, Federer,

Djokavic. These guys ain't no joke. They're real good athletes. He's in

amongst it. He's beaten every one of them at one stage or another. As

the years that I've known him, he's got better and better. This has

been my best year. In the biggest events I've played my best tennis.

I got to the semi-finals or better of all four of the slams, which has

only happened I think six times in the history of the game. It is,

without question, one of the strongest ear yaz of all time. It's

great to be part of it. I think of the achievements thaw have, they

feel bigger because of the guys you are competing against.

On the court I see someone who has incredible hands, reminded me of

He's like, you watch him and he's like a chess player, just the

ability to change gears and throw off an opponent. It's like watching

a video game or ping pong on a tennis court. Wimbledon is like a

national moment. I remember watching as a kid. We have had a

British winner today. You always assume who was playing from Britain

was out early doors. Well, who do you fancy? Now, you are on the edge

of your seat believing that Andy Murray can win Wimbledon. If you

miss something like that, you look like a prat. Funny guy. Very dry.

remember the day before my last big fight I was texting him and before

he has big matches I've tried to text him. I've tried to get him to

trash talk his opponents. Le has tried to get me to crush my

opponent's hands when we shake hands, but I was trying to explain

that we are meant to be gentlemen, so you can't get away with that

stuff unfortunately. He's been Britain's best tennis player in a

lifetime and all he has to do is keep the form going and he'll be

number one. I'm positive about that. Another outstanding year. Let's

hope that Grand Slam will be his next year. He's one of tonight's

ten contenders. We'll have a reminder of the all-important

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 99 seconds

Keep on voting for your favourite and remember you can vote for any

contender at any time and you'll hear from our winners on the red

button straight after the show. As the saying goes, behind every great

team there's a great coach so the next award pays tribute to the very

best, mind, mental and motivator. To announce who the 2011 coach is

please welcome Keri-Anne Payne and Petra Kvitova.

APPLAUSE It's always nice to get all the

tall people together, but I'm joined by two women who have

achieved incred libl sporting -- incredible sporting feats this year.

We can see your smile there. What was that like? It was wonderful.

Keri-Anne Payne, the first British athlete to secure your place at the

2012 Games, an incredible day for you too? Absolutely. The race

itself was just perfect in terms of tactics and things and it was a

brilliant day and my sister gave birth to my niece on that day.

How do you rank the two, about the same? She wins totally. Good luck

in 2012. I'm sure you will both tell us how important your coaches

are and we'll look at the contenders. In 2011, Sir Alex

Ferguson celebrated 25 years in charge of Manchester United. He led

the Red Devils to a record-breaking 19th top-flight title. They also

reached the Champions League final. Andy Flower coached England's

cricketers to new heights. They became the number one Test team in

the world for the first time, thanks to a stunning Ashes success,

victory over Sri Lanka and a 4-0 whitewash over India and Warren

Gatland was behind Wales' excellent run in the rugby World Cup. They

beat Ireland to reach the semis, but just missed out, losing to

France by a single point. worthy. Keri-Anne Payne, the winner,

please. And the winner of the Coach of the Year, is Andy Flower.

Huge congratulations. I'm sure you would like to say a few words.

Thank you very much. Thank you very much to the BBC and to the English

public for the support that they give our cricket team. This is a

very proud moment for me to stand here. I'm -- I moved from Zimbabwe

a few years ago and England has been very good to my family and I.

I'm also very proud to be part of the England cricket team. They've

done so wonderful things over the last couple of years, so it's great

for me to be part of that. I think everyone in this room realises that

it's the players that actually make the hard decisions that play under

the real pressure and have got to go and deliver once they get over

that line. It's great to have a good bunch of players and people to

work with. Thank you very much once again for this award. Thank you.

Well done. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, the 2011

Coach of the Year, Andy Flower. APPLAUSE

To golf now and emotions ran deep at the Open, where Royal St

George's one of the game's most popular players, who five years ago

suffered a personal tragedy first won his first major at the age of

42. I have known Darren since he was 15. He was by far and away the

best player among the young. Darren spent hours on the green always

practising putting and thinking this is going to be for the Open

championship one day. What he went through cost him five years. They

got married and then she passed away in 2006. It's been a very long

and rocky and difficult road for Darren. Being a single parent isn't

at all easy and for the boys to be without their mum has been heart

breaking. He plays his best when he's at a low ebb, but then he

found momentum and then the light goes on. That week he seemed to be

very much in control of his emotions and of his golf. It was as

if it was a different Darren. was obviously very windy and that

played right in Darren's hands. He's probably the best wind player

in the world. Well, that was some reception. Everybody just seemed to

be so much behind Darren and so much wanting him to win and

cheering him on. He won it properly. He went out and beat everybody else.

He deserved to win that tournament. He played magnificently well. That

would have meant an awful lot to Darren and his family. There's the

two of them. Look. All morning, what time is daddy's coming home?

Where will he be now? What's he doing. They're so proud of their

daddy. He wanted to do it for them. He's been through one of the worst

things that anyone human being can go through and to come back and win

the Open, it's the ultimate. gulp. Please, welcome, Open

champion, Darren clerk. -- Darren Clarke.

APPLAUSE Darren, incredibly emotional scenes

with the boys Tyrone and Conor there. Is that very emotional when

it hit home? I think it was when I got back lom to them it would have

been easy for me to pack it all in and not do anything and what have

you, but I kept on going and to get back home and see the boys, see

Tyrone and Conor and just saw the VT out the back there. I'm almost

crying already. Just to give them a big hug. What I tried to do, I do

it for them. It's nice for me, but I try to make them proud of their

dad. Maybe that week I did. They certainly are. I think, also I

don't know how many times I've wasted my money backing you for the

Open. Needless to say, I didn't last year or this year, I should

say. A few guys made a few quid. Did you surprise yourself? You are

in your 40s now. Comfortably in my 40s. I was definitely the fattest

one walking up there at that stage! I'm definitely so. Yes, golf, you

never know what will happen. Maybe my time had passed through one

reason or another, for different circumstances, but that's the

beauty of our sport. It's different to the majority of other ones, that

we can keep on going and keep on playing and - You held it together

on the last round. Boy, did you celebrate after? Yes. I think the

morning after was a little bit of a blur, but we carried on during the

evening and weren't really doing anything and I ended up at 6am

sitting having a drink at the table and I looked around and sort of

panicked because I didn't know where the Claret Jug was and I

looked out of the window and it was 80 yards down the garden, I had

forgotten I had left it out the -- in the garden. Wonderful

achievement. Ladies and gentlemen, Darren Clarke.

APPLAUSE Time now to reveal the Overseas

Sports Personality of the Year. There are some quality candidates,

including Formula One world champion, Sebastian Vettel and

Barcelona's little master, Lionel Messi, but 2011 there was nb to

touch this standout personality -- nobody to touch this standout

personality, who had a standout Good evening, Manchester. Hello

everybody. Thank you very much for this beautiful award. I'm so sorry

that I won't be physically attending this night with you. I

want to thank everybody who has been voting for me throughout the

UK. I'm very honoured and privileged to be on the list with

the great champions who have won this award in the past. Looking

back at 2011, it has been the best season of my career. I have won

three Grand Slams and who knows, next year, maybe all four? Yes, I

want to wish you all a pleasant evening and I hope I can see you in

the future. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, Novak

Djokovic. In football all Scottish silverware

went to Glasgow. Rangers kept their title and League Cup, a fond

farewell for Walter. Celtic snatched the cup. The auld holding

firm. Down south Birmingham City's dreams came true after this Arsenal

nightmare. A Carling Cup win for one team, the long wait for a

trophy finally over. The Three Lions restored some pride this year.

Penalties remain an achilles heel. England's men booked their place at

the European Championship. No sweat. England a place at Euro 2012.

They'll be joined by the Irish, Thierry's sleight of hand foregont.

They're smiling once more. In English football, one city and

two teams dominated, divided by rivalry and each with a burning

passion to succeed. Welcome to Manchester.

The City, it's changed hey. Not like it used to be. City have

changed. That's for sure. Tell me You've got a more loyal, better

dressed support than they have. Come on, this is the biggest, best

club in the worldment -- World. much titles, and how many have City

won? Never forget the bad times. We're looking forward, not back.

Our first trophy in 35 years. a momentous day for Manchester City.

So worth the wait. Even if it was bought. You haven't spent anything

right, how much was Berbatov? Ferdinand? Rooney? Rooney was worth

every penny just for "that" goal. COMMENTATOR: Oh, that is very, very

specialment 19 titles. More than Liverpool. More than anyone.

Not in the Champions League, though. A lot of people fancy Man United

again for some reason. There's no shame in losing to that Barcelona

side. We're United, we dust ourselves down and come back

stronger. We're in the way, though, and we're going nowhere. Give over,

we're still the best team round here. Are you sure about that?

COMMENTATOR: 6-1 to Manchester City. The city's changed all right.

city. United. His side are top of the Premier League at Christmas,

please welcome Manchester City Firstly, apologies for the

fireworks. You probably thought you were at Balatelli's house.

thought this. You've been a couple of years now at Manchester City. Do

you get that rivalry now, the United/City thing, is it inside

you? After two years, it's normal. I think that we work hard because

we have the United there and for this reason, and after two years as

normal that it could be like this. You're top of the league now, going

into Christmas. Can you hold on? think that will be important to be

on the top in the end of the season. But I think after many years for

the City fans to be there in Christmas, that is good things.

wonderful achievement to win the first trophy in 35 years. Do you

think we're looking at a period of domination for Manchester, two

clubs going head to head? I think that's a good thing for the city,

for Manchester, to have two important teams like City and

United. And if you're interested, it's 1-1, Tottenham and Chelsea.

Just before you go. Ladies and 2011, a storybook year for horse

racing. Amateur jockey Sam Waley- Cohen road his father's horse to

Gold Cup glory. Ballabriggs was trained by a McCain, a fifth Grand

National win for the family. The Derby win took their breath

away. While Paul Hanigan was the man again, winning more flat races

than anyone else. And two sporting fenom Nan -- phenomena, Frankel,

one of the all-time greats and AP McCoy, champion jockey for the 16th

consecutive year. Simply the greatest ever. Yes, a special

season for last year's sports personality. In domestic cricket

Lancashire won the County Championship title for the first

time outright in 77 years. There were one-day trophies for Leicester

and Surrey. In Test cricket England were unbeatable. One man key to

that success was a batsman who combined brains with Brawn and

crucially kept a cool head. Captain fantastic, Andrew Strauss. Anecdote

with Strauss, I've got nothing. I've got nothing. He's an excellent

leader of men. I think he's an inspirational type figure. I hate

to say this, he's as natural a captain as I've ever known. Cricket

differs from other sports, once you're on the field, the can tin

has to make so many decisions that directly affect the game. It's not

like football or rugby where they just run around. It's why we choose

the guy with an A-level. He has two. He was -- if he was in the army he

would be a field marshal. Australia have a lot of respect for Andrew

Strauss. The Ashes is it. He is a world-class player. He cleverly

lost the toss at Adelaide. We all wanted to bat first. We lost the

toss. We had to bowl first. Australia were three down in ten

minutes. Genius. They really came out aggressively. It was a real

attitude thing that started with Andrew Strauss.

COMMENTATOR: England have retained the Ashes. When you look at the

start of the English summer and you look at Stuart Broad, he hadn't

been doing that well. Andrew Strauss backed him. Then he took

seven wickets. The moment was all England's. Now they're the number

one Test side in the world. He set us a goal of world number one two

years ago. We got there. Andrew Strauss has to put his hand up and

take a bit of credit for that. After the Sydney Test we walked out

to the middle of the ground with a beer and cigar and sat down.

Everyone started talking about their favourite moments of the trip.

When it got to him, he said "This is my favourite moment - we've won

the Ashes in Australia 3-1 and we've talked about the best

moments." I still get goose bumps when I think about it now.

Please welcome England cricket As we heard there, are you called

field marshal Strauss, do you see yourself as a natural leader?

That's a big question. I've always enjoyed captaining sides. If you

push yourself too high and tell everyone you should be captain,

maybe you're not the right person to be captain. Thank you Graeme for

your kind words there. Graeme is one of these people who is great

value for the first half of the tour, and then after that everyone

gets physically sick of the sight of him. And he's here tonight! You

can enjoy a lovely drink to end the year. He's enjoying that moment too.

Two-and-a-half years and we're going to be the best Test team in

the world, you told the guys. What took you so long? I tell you what

took so long, our analysts did a thing of how we got to number one.

It looked impossible. It seemed like a long way off. It was amazing

to achieve it. To set your goals high and then to achieve it, it

feels very special and I think to do it with such a great bunch of

people as well make it's even more so. Congratulations you've gone

from fifth to first if the world. You're home for Christmas, which is

rare for cricketers. Bad news is you're doing the cricket. Well done.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 99 seconds

Ladies and gentleman, Andrew Do please dial carefully. Lasting

the distance in any event is what winning is all about. Our next

contender did that this year. After being denied one gold at the World

Athletics Championships, seven days later he completed the most

stunning of triumphs and create British sporting history. 2011 was

another amazing chapter in the life of Mo Farah.

He planned, trained, given it everything. He felt he had the

victory within his grasp. COMMENTATOR: He looks anxiously

over his left shoulder. He sees the Ethiopian mounting a challenge.

It's like, oho, he's going to lose COMMENTATOR: He denies Farah, the

medal he so dearly Cherished. Major disappointing Forfar Farah.

He came -- for Mo Farah. It was as if somebody had punched him in the

gut. He rarely shows emotion. He tends to keep it bottled up.

He's a dedicated husband and father. He spends all of his time away from

training with us and he puts us before himself. Anyone that meets

Mo is drawn to him. He's smiling, looking you right in the eye. You

know when you're talking with him that he makes you feel like you're

the only person in the worldment -- World. The first night was hard,

but the day after, he was back to normal. I think he was looking

ahead to the next race. It was round and round in circles. My legs

were aching. I got pins and needles. We were on our feet yelling at the

TV. This time he had four guys behind him.?.

COMMENTATOR: It's gold this time Forfar Farah. He served this for --

It's gold this time for Mo Farah. He deserved this. She's proud but

she takes it for granted a little bit now. I think she expects him to

win every race he's in. COMMENTATOR: Your daddy's just won

a Gold Medal. I know. Ladies and gentleman, please

We can see there, you have quite a fan club in your house and a tough

critic indeed. Little Rihanna is quite a character? Yes, she is the

first one to tell me off. She didn't have much to tell you off

there. Take you back to that, because only seven days between the

two distance finals. It's a superhuman effort. Tell us how

difficult it was physically and more importantly emotionally?

was really difficult because at the 10 K I didn't have a clue who that

guy was. Then when I went 500 metres to go, I was thinking about

the guy who came first and I was pushing, but 150 to go I'm thinking,

"I still got this, because the crowd was getting louder and

louder." Then 50 metres to go, the guy came right past me and I had

nothing left. You came back and you got the gold. What did that mean to

you? That meant a lot to me. To come back, it wasn't easy. I had a

few blisters and I had to take care of them and get in the ice bath and

make sure I ate well. All the hard work, because you have to go in the

mountains and spend five weeks putting the miles in and it's never

easy. I know you do about 120 miles a week and you are right in

training at the moment. You are a busy man? Yeah, I do 120 miles a

week. I'm off to Kenya tomorrow morning to put a block of training

together. I'll be there for four weeks and come back the end of

January and see where I am. We know it's a very important year for you

and good luck for the Games in 2012. Fantastic year for you. Good luck

tonight, ladies and gentlemen, Mo Farah.

APPLAUSE This year, one man put on his

swimming trunks, got into the Thames, and took on the challenge

of his life, to raise over �1 million for Sport Relief. This year,

Helen Skelton's going colder. going to attempt to get to the

South Pole. We want a million of you to go the extra mile to raise a

record amount for Sport Relief. And once again, we'll bring you the

biggest night of entertainment. love you, man. Sport Relief 2012,

such fun! What a player and she's here tonight along with the 1998

Sports Personality of the Year and fellow ambassador, so please

welcome Miranda Hart and Michael Owen.

APPLAUSE Pretty good forehand? Thank you,

Gary. Good evening to you and fellow athletes. May I say, ladies,

don't worry, I wasn't nominated either. I know, disgusting.

relief or year even more Sport Relief coming up. Absolutely. We

have amazing challenges, apart from David's 140-mile swin and Helen's

trip and on 23rd March we have a great night of television and

entertainment. I am doing a sketch and it may involve the tennis.

Thanks about the forehand, it's kind. On 25th March hopefully over

one million people will sign up for the mile, so it will be great.

for a terrific cause? Absolutely. Raises vital money to support

disadvantaged people here and in Africa. I'm delighted you have been

able to join us, as you have the honour of presenting the next award,

which is for the Unsung Hero Award. This recognises those special

people in the communities who give up so much time to help others. The

winners from BBC's 15 nations and regions have been announced. It's

great you are all here tonight. Every one of you have made such an

impact which meant picking a candidate was very difficult, but

the judges had to make a choice. We'll look at the winners' story.

21 years ago, Janice Eaglesham and Ian Mirfin founded the Red Star

Athletics Club in Glasgow, a club they continue to run in their spare

time, twice a week, to this day. They are dead friendly and they are

nice to me and my brother. He build your confidence and they are easy

to talk to and you have joke and laugh with them. Since 1990 they've

trained, helped and coached over 150 competitors, including medal

winners and record holders in both the Paralympics and the special

Olympics. I've been in the club since we started and she has helped

me a long way. I have been to the special Olympics. We all get on

great. It's a great club to come to. Joorbgs I wouldn't be where without

them. I wouldn't be where I was without them. Thank you for being

my coaches. Michael, if you would do the official honours, please.

The Unsung Hero Award for 2011 goes to Janice Eaglesham and Ian Mirfin.

Many congratulations. Which one of you would like to say a few words?

I think we are a bit shocked and stunned so please appreciate that.

We need to thank a few people, in fact a lot of people. Can I say

thank you to BBC Scotland for all the support they've given us

through this? It's resulted in more coverage for disability sport in

Scotland. Particularly to Paul Bradley, who is out there somewhere.

It's an award for everybody, not just us. Members of the club, who

we saw on the screen. Scottish disability sport and Scottish

athletics do so much good work together and we know many other

people who are involved to even greater extents than us and this is

an award for volunteers everywhere. It's nice to be recognised. Thank

you. It's been a lovely evening so far. Thank you for all your efforts

and many, many congratulations, you are this year's Unsung Hero Award.

APPLAUSE COMMENTATOR: India lift the World

Cup after 28 years. From India's World Cup-winning appeal to a model

batsman. He was Man of the Series as England beat Australia in

January and his 294 against India was the stand innings of the summer.

-- standout innings of the summer. He's Alastair Cook. If you want to

be a big scorer, concentration is paramount. I like to refer to it as

run scoring, because anyone can bat, not everyone can score runs. One of

the best opening batsmen that England has ever produced.

contraition... To go down to Australia and be successful is one

of the ultimate challenges for an English cricketer. There is nothing

better in the world that beat be the Australians at anything. --

than beating the Australians at anything. To beat them at cricket

in their own back yard through the bat of one hero is as good as sport

gets. COMMENTATOR: He's made 200 in a Test match. 235, an immense

performance. That innings and that match was the pivotol match that

won us the Ashes. He racked up over 700 runs. 140-odd at Adelaide. 189.

One of the all-time records. It's batting at his best. He takes the

bat to the Indian bowlers and pulverises them too. 294. The

highest first-class score and a great innings. This young man has

got 19 Test centuries and he's only 26. He grinds these teams into

total submission and it is brilliant to watch. He's like the

new Rock of Gibralter, he's just this great, big stick of granite,

who just never gets out. He has all the attributes to be one of the

greatest run scorers of all time. Cometh the hour, cometh the Cook.

Please, welcome Alastair Cook. APPLAUSE

That's what you call a welcome! Thank you. You were creating the

fireworks in Australia. Tell us what was it like smashing the

Aussies all over the place and winning the Ashes on their home

soil? Everyone likes beating Australia, so it was incredible

tour to be part of. To play a significant contribution to winning

that, it will always stay long in my memory and when Chris Tremlett

took that final wicket it was a great moment. 766 runs during the

series, over 35 hours at the crease. How hard is it to maintain

concentration? It's one of the challenges you have got. I'm a bit

of a boring batsman to watch. I can't score runs quickly enough, so

I have to stay there a long time. Goochy has taught me well on the

concentration and to have him in my camp, teaching me how to be a run

scorer is very important. Is there one moment during the year that is

your special highlight? To me, it's right at the beginning, in Sydney.

Obviously, Graeme Swann talked about it and Andrew, that moment

when we finally achieved what a lot of people didn't think we could do.

I believe there is a very big day coming up? Yeah, I'm getting

married on New Year's Eve, so hopefully it will be a great way to

end what has been a good year. luck with that. Good luck with the

award tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, Alastair Cook.

Still to come, we'll announce our Lifetime Achievement Award winner

and end the night with the crowning of the BBC Sports Personality of

the Year. The Walker Cup - Great Britain and Ireland's amateur men

battle the elements and outgun the United States. Victory for Great

Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup. A storming fightback by

Europe's women stunned their American rivals. Their first one in

the Solheim Cup since 2003. Wonderful scenes and I'm delighted

to say there are members of the successful team with us this

evening. I'm here with the captain of the team, Alison Nicholas,

holding the trophy that nobody wants to drop. What an incredible

year it was for you guys. Not only did you have to wait since 2003,

but it was the way you did it? was magnificent with 30 minutes to

go and everyone thought the Americans had won and the girls

came back and fought back and they were great and it was just a great

victory, great team effort. The determination and the belief they

had in themselves was magnificent and I thank them for this trophy.

Plenty of pride from the girls, but for you personally after such a

wonderful career, was it the highlight? Absolutely. It even beat

my US Open Major win. It was terrific to see the girls fight and

play so well and to see their faces at the end of it. They were just a

great team and it was a team effort. Indeed. Amazing drama. Thank you

very much for being here this evening. Thank you. It was in the

Walker Cup that our next contender excelled as an amateur. Now he's a

model professional. This year he topped the money list on both sides

of the Atlantic. He's world number one, the force was certainly with

Luke Donald in 2011. My mum said when he was born this one is

Use the force, Luke. He was the best player in the world. Highs

consistency is second to none. fantastic. You expect him to hit

the right shot at the right time. You could almost tell at an early

age that he had that mindset to achieve the highest goal in golf.

He works so hard on every aspect of his game. That is why I think he's

become number one. The force will be with you, always. You have two

guys fighting for formed number one. Then to have a playoff to decide it.

He doesn't make mistakes, he just grinds them down. He's able to

create the pressure because he's Our father passed away three weeks

ago, I remember sitting on the sofa, and Luke holed that putt and just

dad and I looked at each other and we just sort of held each other's

hand and looked at each other. It was a nice moment. Seeing Luke

become the best golfer in the world, just a lot of pride, just

Because he goes about his business so quietly, you forget what he's

done this year. You've got to believe that the majors will be the

next step. The sky's the limit. Please welcome the number one

We thought it was apt you've been so hot on the golf course this year.

While it's been a year of constant highs on the course, it's been a

year of highs and lows off it. Just three days after your lost your

father, your second child was born. Yeah, that was some of the toughest

weeks of my life, obviously, I think the birth of our second

daughter shed a little grace on the situation. You can never prepare

for something like that. There were so many highs and lows. Just so

many emotions running around. It was tough. The only real

frustration when it comes to Sophia is that she doesn't yet realise how

special her dad is, the first man in the history of the sport to be

world number one and top the money lists on both sides of the Atlantic.

And to do with it it with a lightsabre. Yes! We all aspire to

do something to create history, to do something that no-one has ever

done. To win both money list titles was very special for me and a very,

very proud moment. I'm sure the force is strong enough to keep it

going in 2012. Well done for a fantastic year. Good luck tonight

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 99 seconds

as well. Ladies and gentleman, Luke Web to be get the bill payer's

You've got about ten minutes to pick your favourite before the

lines close. Don't delay. It's now time to announce the 2011 Team Of

The Year. This award like the coach, overseas an the contenders for the

main award, has been decided by a panel of newspaper and magazine

editors, worth pointing that ou. To present the award, welcome the 2002

Sports Personality Of The Year and Britain's most successful gymnast

of all time, Paula Radcliffe and Great to have you both with us for

this Team Of The Year award. Let's look at the top three contenders.

England cricketers ruled the world in 2011, becoming the number one

Test team on the planet after that stunning Ashes triumph and the

whitewash of India. Manchester United created history this year,

winning a record-breaking 19th top- flight English league title. They

also enjoyed success in Europe, reaching the Champions League final.

And Wales Rugby Union team enjoyed a fantastic run in the World Cup.

They memorabley beat Ireland to reach the semi-s but missed out on

the final by just a point. Beth, the winner please.

The Team Of The Year for 2011 is Many congratulations Andrew. I'm

sure you'd love to say a few words. Yeah I wo. Thank you very much.

This is a special award for us to win. I'm delighted to win it for a

couple of reasons. Firstly, because there's so many great teams who

have won it in the past of the secondly, the one thing we have

bought into as a team is the idea that the team is more important

than the individual. I think it's been the real basis of why we've

done well over the last couple of years and makes it even more

special to receive this accolade tonight. A couple of very quick

thank yous, if you don't mind. First to Andy Flower and the

coaching staff. They've pushed us on, when sometimes we didn't want

to push on. I thank you. I would like to thank the support staff and

medical staff, who don't often get much praise, but they look after us

fantastically well and probably think we're a load of prima Donnas.

We appreciate that. We would like to thank our families who go

through the trials and tribulations alongside us and probably deserve

this a lot more than we do. Thank you very much, cheers.

Congratulations England on an outstanding year.

It's almost close of play in terms of voting for your 2011 Sports

Personality Of The Year. The lines will only be open for a few more

minutes, so get dialling. The rugby year began with England

flying high. Ireland wrecked the Grand Slam. But still, the best of

six. Saracens cut down the opposition to land the English

Premiership. Leinster conquered Europe, but their double dreams

were hit by old rivals Munster. Rugby league, another stunning

Wembley showpiece. Wigan downing Leeds, but Leeds would be back. A

grand final revival inspired by the biggest little man in rugby. In the

Four Nations, England beat the world champions, but in the final,

the kangaroos provided the knock- out punch, a perfect sendoff for

the great Darren Lochear. A final call for three more reds. Wilko,

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 99 seconds

Thank you very much Ngati Ranana. I hope you found that inspirational

and the Haka certainly inspired the hosts at the Rugby World Cup, where

New Zealand danced to a winning tune. In theory, it was all too

easy, New Zealand hadn't won the World Cup for 24 years, but they

were the best team in the world and now they had home advantage. This

was the World Cup of fractured perceptions all set against the

real fracture of the Christ Church earthquake. Dan Carter, the best

player in this best team, went down injured. And the screw in Ritchie's

McCall's metatarsal meant the All Blacks would have to do it the hard

way. And who might challenge them? Not England. On the field

unconvincing, off it, uncontrollable. Whatever their

World Cup target was, England miss today by a mile. -- missed it by a

mile. Even Johnny missed. It was memorable for tonga, nearly. For

Scotland, who did everything bar score when it mattered, they

defended dogedly until it mattered. Ireland did finish one job,

emerging unbeaten from their pool, victory over Australia opened up a

pathway for them... Nearly. It was nearly Wales's World Cup. They

would eventually be tipped into the black hole of a captain sent off

and missed kicks. But until then, they lit up the tournament. Wales

were beaten in the semi-final by France, the most mute nus crew at

the World Cup, the worst it -- worst team it was said to reach the

final. But on the night they advanced on New Zealand's Haka, and

were the better team who lost. The best team won the World Cup, but

how difficult it was for them and the World Cup was all the better

for it being anything but easy. the very emotional World Cup

victory. The All Blacks were not the only antipodeans to rule in

2011. Australian Casey Stoner won the MotoGP world championship title

N Formula One, the season was dominated by one team, one car and

crucially, one man, from the very start. Pole position was the

possession of Sebastien Vettel. Formula One, for some of us, it's

all about instinct. You keep pushing to the limit. Sometimes

beyond. The chasing pack are relentless in their pursuit.

COMMENTATOR: Button is flying. Beautiful to list ton it. He goes

round the outside. Alonso leads. Another brave and sensational move.

When the moment of victory arrives...

COMMENTATOR: The reigning world champion.... You feel invincible.

It is an emotion beyond words. The youngest ever double world champion.

COMMENTATOR: The new world champion, Sebastien Vettel. Now a time to

reflect, but soon enough, the hunt resumes. The checkered flag has

been waved on voting for this year's Sports Personality Of The

Year. The phone lines are now closed. Please do not call as the

vote won't count and you may still be charged. Here's a taster of a

little something coming your way COMMENTATOR: Usain Bolt! So, the

countdown is well and truly on. There's just 217 days to go until

the Olympic flame is lit by this very torch and the greatest show on

earth begins in London. That brings us on to our Lifetime Achievement

Award winner who as an athlete is simply out of this world. He's an

Olympic giant in every sense of the word. He put his family and his

body through hell to achieve what he achieved. Had he stopped after

Atlantic he wouldn't be remembered. -- Atlanta, he wouldn't be

remembered. Four gold in a row. If anyone sees me go near a boat you

have my permission to shoot me. Sydney established him as a

sporting icon in Britain, if not the world. He would have won gold

in each of the five Games and no athlete has ever done that in an

endurance event. For us, it was everyday life. We always knew he

was quite special. For us he was just dad. Every interview, every

newspaper journalist was all about, are you going to win your fifth?

Every time you have to say, yes, I am. He knew it was the most

important six minutes of his life. 1997 he became a diabetic.

normal person would have said, "I can't carry on." He wouldn't be the

first to suggest that if you weren't performing in trials that

you didn't deserve a place on the team, so there were different times

in that four years. Is it worth it? Are the big Games worth going

through this hassle for? Absolutely miserable and you could tell he was

in sporting hell. Hold on boys, the Italians are coming strong. By the

time he got his diabetes controlled as best he could he was back in

full fitness and I have never seen him pull harder. He was showing

himself, I'm the best in the world." There was so much riding on

this race, it was very much very different to the previous one.

COMMENTATOR: Five in a row. What a great limb wan quan -- limb quan.

- Olympian. We should have been saying thank you to him, but he was

saying it to us. He's truly inspirational. He's my daddy!

present the trophy I'm delighted to be joined by Her Royal Highness,

the Princess Royal, herself a former recipient of the Sports

Personality of the Year. Also here are family friends and colleagues

from the world of rowing to honour this year's Lifetime Achievement

Award winner, it's Sir Steve Redgrave.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 99 seconds

What an ovation and well deserved. We'll hear from Sir Steve in one

moment, but ma'am, how would you sum up this man's achievements?

think he does everything the hard way, but he's been a pleasure to

have been able to give him one or two awards over the passage of time,

but nothing gives my more pleasure than that, because it's a lifetime

of achievement. It's hard to believe the first time I met this

chap he was the quiet unassuming one. That was the first of his gold

medals and we know how difficult it is or was to achieve that

extraordinary level of success throughout his Olympic career. But,

can I just add something that doesn't come out in there, just how

much he's contributed in other ways? Frankly, I don't think we

would have done nearly so well in our Olympic bid if it hadn't been

for Steve's eloquance and passion in his delivery and the fact he

also had some very, very pertinent instructions to give to some rather

more experienced public speakers at the very important bid in Singapore,

which may even have made the crucial difference. His fundraising

activity. We have shed one -- shared one or two platforms for

fellow athletes, but he's also continued that not just with his

own foundation, but with sports up and down the country. When it says

lifetime achievement, this really does mean it, through sport, but

everything he's done during sport and since and I hope this is

Lifetime Achievement Award so far! APPLAUSE

Your Royal Highness, thank you very much for giving me another award.

Two lick pim gold medals and this BBC Lifetime Achievement Award.

Thank you very much for recognising me in this way -- Olympic. I never

thought I would be here again, eleven years ago, when I was

receiving the BBC Sports Personality of the Year and I

thought that was probably going to be the last time that I achieved an

award of any sort. I suppose I better explain this in some ways.

Rumour has it hive been trying out for the 2012 Games and it's gone

wrong. It's not really. I had a small operation yesterday morning.

This will be off tomorrow, so it's no big deal, but it looks pretty

dramatic. To receive this lifetime achievement is a great honour for

me, but without these people around me this would never happen. It's --

I should have said eleven years ago that I didn't say and I'll get

there shortly, to put it right, that Clive was the first guy that I

actually went out on the water with, many years ago, 1976. That's how my

career started. Then with Pete and we rowed up to junior level, but

never selected to go to the world championships and then our paths

went a separate way. 1980, with Adam Clist, being in the junior

double, -- we won a silver medal and we were disgusted with that and

walked out in different directions. From that we made British rowing

stronger from that, the coaching and the support staff and it has

made a real huge difference. All the guys that I have won Olympic

goad medals with are here tonight, apart from one. And rye Holmes lost

his life just over a year ago and it would have been great to see him

here tonight. Unfortunately, from that point of view. I've had great

memories with these guys, rowing up and down the river. The boring old

sport going backwards! 2012 is only a few days away. It's going to be a

great sporting year. We have had a great sporting year in 2011. I

think 2012 will be even better and our rowing team is much, much

stronger than any of the years that I was involved in the sport. Expect

some big things, putting the pressure on the team now. One or

two are standing to the side of me now. To the BBC for giving me this

opportunity and that one person that I forgot to mention eleven

years ago was my wife. I mentioned everybody else on that occasion,

but forgot to mention my wife. My wife was an Olympic athlete in her

own right. Silver and bronze at the Commonwealth Games and in her own

right as an athlete and then has been the team doctor on and off for

the last 15 years and now helping the team in their preparations for

next year. Without family and friends, my parents and all the

support that I've had from that close-knit family, I would never

have been able to achieve the sort of things I've done within sports.

The last eleven years have been trying to help others achieve other

things and actually Sport Relief was actually put together in my

front room at my house in 2000. That's going from strength to

strength, so please go out there and run your mile or be part of the

mile next year and make it one of the biggest events the world has

ever seen and that money raised will help people around the world

doing some very special things. Thank you to all these guys here

today and Princess Royal and the BBC to put that wrong right of my

wife of thanking her for all her support through thick and thin.

This was one of the minor things in my career, but she has helped me

through most of the major ones as well. Thank you to all of you for

giving me this opportunity. APPLAUSE

Congratulations to Sir Steve Britain is winning. For the fourth

time Chrissie Wellington is world champion. So many of the best

athletes on the planet are now from this island. It's gold for Keri-

Anne Payne of Britain. In water. On land. Across the globe.

champion of the world. World champion. Helen Jenkins is the

world number one. When we salute a truly golden generation of British

men and women. Rebecca Adlington, who in 2011 took it to the world

and won! Some great achievements and there was more success at the

Special Olympics, where Great Britain won an incredible 187

medals, including 72 golds. At the European paralimb pick -- the

European Paralympic Swimming Championships the GB team took 27

golds with Susie Rodgers winning five titles. It's almost time to

reveal the name of the Sports Personality of the Year, but before

we do, let's now take some time to reflect and remember so many of our

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 99 seconds

sporting friends, who we sadly lost A wonderful tribute interest to

some of the very special -- there to some of the very special friends.

We miss you all. In a moment we'll reveal the 2011 Sports Personality

of the Year, but first, here's a reminder of the ten contenders:

would feel humble that people voted for me. It's been a truly wonderful

year for me and this would cap it off. Just to be nominated is a

great feeling. It's probably the highest accolade you can have

bestowed on you. Just to be a nominee is massive, but to win it,

I would be quite lost for words. would be one of the highlights of

my career so far. There's a great list of winners and one I would

like to try to join. We don't play sport for accolades, but it would

be incredible. It's time. Ladies and gentlemen, to announce the

winner of the 2011 Sports Personality of the Year. To present

the awards, please welcome two sporting legends, Sir Bobby

Charlton and Baroness Tanni Grey- All votes have been counted and

independently verified. Tanni, if I can ask you to reveal who is in

third place. Third place is Mo Congratulationss to Mo Farah. Tanni,

the runner up, please. And the BBC Sports Personality Of

The Year 2011? The 2011 BBC Sports Personality Of The Year is... Mark

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 99 seconds

I'm absolutely speechless, really. I think a few of the guise, my

team-mates, they'll say that's a rare thing, you know. But it's

those guys, without those guys this wouldn't even be close to possible,

I guarantee you that. I had a group of guys in Copenhagen who road

incredible this year. That brought a rainbow Jersey back to Great

Britain after nearly half a decade. That's a massive thing. Erm...

Really, I'd like to thank obviously those guys as well, everyone who

supports me. Obviously my girlfriend and her little bump as

well. Yeah, obviously well done to all the other people, the nine

other nominations, just to even be nominated in the top ten this year

in such an incredible year for British sport, absolutely

incredible, that we can provide, produce such champions from such a

small place. It's remarkable. Then to be nominated against nine

inspirational people this year, to get this, it's, really I'm lost for

words. I want to thank everybody, who supports me here and everybody

at home who's voted. I think it shows, for me, it's a landmark in

cycling. I think I take this on behalf of cycling. For cycling to

be recognised in a non-Olympic year, a few years ago, it's unheard of.

It would have been unthought of. It's happened you know. It's

incredible to see. It's incredible to be part of that. And to see the

amount of people out riding bikes to work, commuting and doing it as

a hobby. They can appreciate what it is to ride. You know, the pain

that it takes, the dedication it takes. It's the same with every

sport. That's why we're doing so great. We're just putting so much

in. You've seen the returns. Now I'm going to shut up now because

I'm just mumbling on. Thank you everybody, thank you. It's an

honour. APPLAUSE