by British footballer Beth Mead has urged anyone interested in women’s sport to “keep pushing” after receiving the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.
The 27-year-old Arsenal striker was awarded first place in the opinion poll for the prestigious award, ahead of England Test cricket captain Ben Stokes and Olympic curling champion Eve Muirhead, for his lead role in the Lionesses’ Euro 2022 victory.
Mead scored six goals to win the home Golden Boot in the Euro and was also named player of the tournament.
Mead, now cast aside due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury that puts his participation in next year’s World Cup in doubt, said: “I am incredibly honored to win this award.
“I wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t for the girls there and the team supporting me. Yes, I got this award, I did my job, I scored a few goals but I couldn’t have done it without them.
“And I certainly wouldn’t have done it without my mom, dad, and all my family. But most of all, this is for women’s sport and for women’s sport which is moving in the right direction. So let’s keep pushing the girls and keep doing the right thing.”
Mead is the 13th woman to win the award individually, and Jayne Torvill won the award with her ice dancing partner Christopher Dean in 1984.
Mead’s success concluded a successful night for the Lionesses. The team won the Team of the Year award and Coach of the Year went to their Dutch leader Sarina Wiegman.
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Beth Mead
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Ben Stokes
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Eve Muirhead
Jill Scott, who was part of the victorious England squad with Mead in the summer, said the team’s biggest achievement was raising the profile of women’s play and encouraging more girls to join.
“We’re thrilled to think that little girls will want a pair of boots this Christmas and go on their own journey and it’s considered normal,” Scott said. said.
The Football Association announced earlier on Wednesday that there was a 12.5 percent increase in female players registered from September 2022 to December 2022.
Argentina’s World Cup-winning captain, Lionel Messi, was named World Sports Star of the Year on Monday, and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt received this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Rob Burrow received the Helen Rollason Award for his work in raising awareness of motor neurone disease, a condition he was diagnosed with in 2019.
He received the award along with former Leeds Rhinos teammate Kevin Sinfield, who has raised more than £7m for MND research and awareness.
Jessica Gadirova was named Young Sports Person of the Year after winning a gold medal on the floor at the World Gymnastics Championships earlier this year.
The 18-year-old was also part of the GB team, which won a silver medal at the same event, where he also took a bronze medal. He won the Young Personality award ahead of skateboarder Sky Brown and diver Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix.
Mike Alden, who was diagnosed with brittle bone disease at the age of four but continues to play football and now coaches in Bristol, won the Unsung Hero award.
