BBC Sports Personality award:Fury, Raducanu in Hamilton out!
Lewis Hamilton has been snubbed for this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year after losing his Formula One title showdown but Tyson Fury has been included, despite threatening the BBC with legal action.
Fury has been named as a candidate, alongside heavy favourite Emma Raducanu and four other sporting stars, after knocking out Deontay Wilder and retaining his WBC world heavyweight title in October.
Last year, Fury asked to be removed from the shortlist after beating Wilder for the first time, saying he did not need ‘verification’ from such awards.
The BBC refused his demands but the boxer was not voted in the top three, to the relief of all involved. Now he’s been included again and will battle Raducanu for the prize following her stunning US Open win back in September.
There is no place on the shortlist for Hamilton, who has been dealt another blow less than 24 hours after he was controversially beaten to the Formula One world title by Max Verstappen.
It appeared Hamilton, the reigning SPOTY champion, had been given a boost in his bid to defend his crown when organisers delayed the announcing of the nominees until after Sunday’s showdown in Abu Dhabi.
Nominees are usually named in the last week of November or first week in December but Hamilton was given more time to stake his claim, only for him to lose his F1 crown to Verstappen, a nominee for the World Sport Star of the Year award.
It’s thought Hamilton, who was crowned SPOTY in 2014 as well, would have been a leading contender if he won a record eighth world title to surpass Michael Schumacher.
One man included on the shortlist is Fury, although he was not excited by the prospect of being in contention for the award
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Raducanu, 19, is the overwhelming favourite with the bookies to win the prize after she became the first qualifier in the Open era to win a Grand Slam.
She swept all before her at Flushing Meadows earlier this year, beating Leylah Fernandez in a dramatic final to cap the most incredible of underdog stories.