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91Èȱ¬ Sports Personality Of The Year 2007 shortlist unveiled
Ten sportsmen and women from across the United Kingdom and from seven very different sports make up the shortlist for 91Èȱ¬ Sports Personality Of The Year 2007.
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The live event, supported by Robinsons, will be held at Birmingham's NEC for the second time and is a sell-out with 5,000 members of the public attending, nearly double last year's total.
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It will be broadcast on 91Èȱ¬ One on Sunday 9 December, from 7 to 9pm.
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The shortlist (in alphabetical order) is:
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 Joe Calzaghe – Boxing
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Lewis Hamilton – Formula One
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Ricky Hatton – Boxing
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Andy Murray – Tennis
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Christine Ohuruogu – Athletics
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Paula Radcliffe – Athletics
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Jason Robinson – Rugby Union
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Justin Rose – Golf
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James Toseland – Superbikes
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Jonny Wilkinson – Rugby Union
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These ten sporting celebrities will now compete for the public vote on the night, during the live show.
The public will be able to vote for their 91Èȱ¬ Sports Personality of the Year by telephone during the show.
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Details of the numbers to vote on will be given at the start of the programme.
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The public decide the 91Èȱ¬ Sports Personality of the Year winner.
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The shortlist of ten contenders was put together by an expert panel of leading sporting experts from a selection of more than 30 newspaper sports editors (national and regional) and magazines andÌýthe 91Èȱ¬ Sports Personality Of The Year panel of 12 sporting experts.
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Details of the sports editors' and judging panel's votes can be seen on the website at bbc.co.uk/sportspersonality.
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The live show will be presented by Sue Barker, Gary Lineker and Adrian Chiles.
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In addition to the main award of Sports Personality of the Year there will also be awards for:
Ìý Team of the Year
Ìý Coach of the Year
Ìý Overseas Sports Personality of the Year
Ìý Lifetime Achievement
Ìý Helen Rollason Award
Ìý Young Sports Personality of the Year
Ìý Sports Unsung Hero supported by Robinsons
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For voting criteria on all the awards, further information and updates please visit bbc.co.uk/sportspersonality.
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Contenders' highlights
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Joe Calzaghe – Boxing
A decade at the very top was capped earlier this year by Calzaghe's win over WBA and WBC super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler in front of 50,000 Welsh fans at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Calzaghe has beaten the pain barrier while claiming 44 professional career wins from 44 bouts as he has brittle bones in his left hand, which he has broken more than once during his career. Despite reaching such a high, Calzaghe is still aiming to become world champion at two different weights. Ìý
Lewis Hamilton – Formula One
Lewis Hamilton's first professional Formula One season had the world sitting up and taking notice of a young man who had dared to attempt to rewrite the record books. Having never appeared in a Formula One race before March of this year, he just missed out on winning the world title, finishing second behind Kimi Räikkönen. An eventful year, 2007 saw Hamilton break and equal numerous records, such as most wins and pole positions in a debut season. No doubt Hamilton is an exciting Formula One prospect and we can only imagine what is yet to come in what promises to be a long and illustrious career.
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Ricky Hatton – Boxing
Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton is going to be in the news during the second weekend of December for reasons other than Sports Personality, as his WBC welterweight title fight against Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas takes place in the early hours of Sunday morning. The fight looks set to be a classic, with both fighters unbeaten. Hatton's win-loss record stands at 43-0, with 31 knockouts, while Mayweather, 30, has racked up 38-0, with 24 KOs. The 29-year-old Mancunian will face Mayweather at the MGM Grand in one of the most eagerly-awaited fights of the year. And with both men claiming to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, it promises to be a real clash of the titans.
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Andy Murray – Tennis
Andy Murray made further progress in 2007 by firmly establishing himself as even more of a Grand Slam star of the future. Despite a wrist injury which ruled him out of Wimbledon and the game for almost three months, he regularly beat the world's best when on court, winning two top Open tournaments, the SAP in San Jose and St Petersburg, as well as starring in Britain's Davis Cup team. His game has matured this year and he has risen up the world rankings from 17th to 11th. Ìý
Christine Ohuruogu – Athletics
On 11 August, Ohuruogu competed for the first time in more than a year. In the space of a few days she shaved half a second off her personal best and led a World Championship 1-2 for Britain with Nicola Sanders in the women's 400m. Her winning time of 49.61 seconds was the third fastest time ever by a British woman behind Kathy Cook and Katharine Merry. Ohuruogu was competing in Osaka after serving a year's suspension for missing three out-of-competition drugs tests. Despite the year's controversy, Ohuruogu has already been named Great Britain's Athlete of the Year by athletics writers. Ìý
Paula Radcliffe – Athletics
Before her appearance in November's New York Marathon, Radcliffe – the 2002 91Èȱ¬ Sports Personality of the Year – had not competed in any 26.2 mile event since winning the world title in Helsinki more than two years earlier. But she dug deep to defeat Gete Wami, seeing off the Ethiopian in a sprint finish despite being behind in the last mile. Now a mother to 10- month-old Isla, Radcliffe kept repeating the phrase "I love you Isla" to maintain her rhythm in the closing stages of her New York Marathon victory. The Marathon world record holder is now focusing on preparing for success in Beijing next year.
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Jason Robinson – Rugby Union
Jason Robinson was sensational for England this year as the defending champions reached the Rugby World Cup final. He was electrifying in attack and devastating in defence and proved to be one of the players of the tournament. And in a wonderful moment Jason led England out in the semi-finals against France on winning his 50th international cap. "Billy Whizz", as he's affectionately known, retired from rugby after England's 15-6 defeat against South Africa – but the 2003 World Cup winner can hold his head up high after a career in both league and union full of quality and class.
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Justin Rose – Golf
In addition to his four top-12 finishes in the Majors this year, Rose overcame a stomach bug to take the season-ending Volvo Masters in Spain and clinch the PGA European Tour Order of Merit title. The drama at Valderrama started on the tournament's first day when Rose hit a hole-in-one just hours after being ill. Rose is the youngest golfer since Northern Ireland's Ronan Rafferty to win the Order of Merit title, earning more than £2m in prize money to edge out rivals Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington.
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James Toseland – Superbikes
James Toseland is a man who enjoys life in the fast lane and this year he once again showed his class by regaining the World Superbike title. Reaching speeds of up to 200 miles an hour, he set the pace from the start in the 15-round championship, winning a race in each of the first five meetings. Riding his Honda, he was always ahead of the pack and he saved the best for his British fans when he raced to a first career double at Brands Hatch in August. The 27-year-old first won the title in 2004, and following his second title this year he leaves Superbikes as world champion before moving to MotoGP in 2008. Ìý
Jonny Wilkinson – Rugby Union
Jonny Wilkinson's Six Nations appearance against Scotland in February was his first game in an England shirt for 1,169 days. Seven months later he was part of the team that helped England pull back from the prospect of early elimination in this year's Rugby World Cup. Wilkinson's return marked the end of a bruising personal journey capped by reaching the World Cup final and becoming the highest points scorer in Rugby World Cup history.
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