Hollie Doyle takes third place in Sports Personality of the Year

PA Sport Reporters
December 20, 2020 10:15 pm

Award goes to Lewis Hamilton, with Jordan Henderson runner-up.

Hollie Doyle capped a memorable 2020 as she took third place behind Formula One ace Lewis Hamilton in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award at MediaCityUK in Salford.

It is a huge achievement for the record-breaking Doyle to go so close in the coveted prize from a shortlist of six from the world of sport. Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson finished runner-up.

The racing industry’s campaign in getting behind Doyle’s bid helped raise her profile with the general public for an award that has only gone to racing once, when Sir Anthony McCoy won in 2010.

Hollie Doyle with Clare Balding during the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2020 at MediaCityUK, Salford (Peter Byrne/PA)

It has been a remarkable 12 months for the 24-year-old, who broke her own best for the most winners in a calendar year by a female jockey before enjoying a Champions Day double at Ascot – including her first Group One aboard Glen Shiel in the British Champions Sprint.

Earlier in the campaign Doyle claimed her first Royal Ascot success on Scarlet Dragon and rode fives winners on a card at Windsor in August. She has since taken part at the Breeders’ Cup in America and became the first female to ride a winner in the Longines International Jockeys Championship in Hong Kong a couple of weeks ago.

Doyle’s outstanding achievements had already been recognised with several awards – as the Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year, the Sports Journalists’ Association Sportswoman of the Year and Flat Jockey of the Year at the HWPA Derby Awards.