After one of the greatest years in Welsh sporting history, the eight contenders for the prestigious BBC Wales Sports Personality Of The Year 2016 award have been revealed today.
The contenders are:
- Paralympic javelin gold medallist Hollie Arnold, who enjoyed an unbeaten season in 2016
- Wales international and Real Madrid Champions League winning footballer Gareth Bale, who was part of the Euro 2016 team that reached the semi-finals
- Olympic cycling team pursuit gold medallist Elinor Barker, who also made an immediate impact after turning to individual competition
- Paralympic shot put gold medallist Aled Sion Davies, who also won gold in the shot put and discus in the European Championships, setting World and Paralympic records along the way
- Owain Doull, another Olympic cycling team pursuit gold medallist, who has enjoyed his best season to date
- Taekwondo athlete Jade Jones, who successfully retained her Olympic title and also became European Champion in 2016
- Olympic sailor Hannah Mills, who upgraded her London 2012 silver medal to gold in the 470 class at the 2016 Games in Rio
- The reigning IBF World Featherweight Champion Lee Selby, who defended his title this year.
The award will be decided by public vote with the winner announced at the Wales Sport Awards 2016 on Monday 5 December at Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff.
Public voting, by phone and text, opens on Monday 28 November until Saturday, December 3. Full details of how to vote will be given on Monday 28 November at bbc.co.uk/sportwales
The shortlist was chosen by an expert panel made up of Wales’ most successful Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson; former Wales footballer Nathan Blake; Welsh Gymnastics chief executive Rhian Gibson; Olympic finalist sprinter Christian Malcolm and chaired by former Wales rugby international and National Director, English Institute of Sport, Nigel Walker.
Nigel Walker says: “It wasn’t an easy task to come up with this shortlist, with so many brilliant performances from Welsh sportsmen and women in 2016. We had to make some tough choices. But in the end, we agreed to settle on eight competitors who have all won at the highest level this year and made a significant impact on the Welsh sporting public.”
Fans can watch the Wales Sport Awards 2016 live from 7.30pm on Monday 5 December at bbc.co.uk/sportwales, BBC iPlayer and the Red Button. The event will also be live on BBC Radio Wales.
The Wales Sport Awards is a partnership between BBC Wales and Sport Wales, celebrating the best sporting achievement at elite and community level. Award categories include Coach Of The Year, Team Of The Year and the BBC Wales Sports Personality Of The Year.
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