Rory McIlroy has been nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year after a career-defining year that saw him win the Masters and complete the career Grand Slam.
McIlroy is looking to become the first golfer to win the award since 1990 and will go against English soccer players Chloe Kelly and Hannah Hampton, F1 driver Lando Norris, darts player Luke Littler and rugby player Ellie Kildunne.
Kelly and Hampton were at the centre of England’s dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Spain in the Euro 2025 final, with Kelly scoring the winning spot-kick after Hampton had made two critical saves.
For Kelly, it came after a difficult period personally, but after leaving Manchester City for Arsenal within months she was a European champion and Champions League winner. Hampton’s heroics saw the Chelsea stopper win the Yashin Trophy for the world’s best woman goalkeeper at the Ballon d’Or awards.
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Newly-crowned Formula One world champion Norris, the 11th Briton to take the title, has driven his way on to the list after edging out Max Verstappen and McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri in a tense end to the season that saw the closest finish to an F1 season for 15 years.
Littler started the year by becoming the youngest world champion in darts history still only 17, and went on to become only the fifth player ever to complete the PDC Triple Crown with the world championship, Premier League and Matchplay titles, rising to number one in the rankings.
McIlroy (36) emerged from a dramatic playoff against Justin Rose to win the Masters. Then at the Ryder Cup he contributed three-and-a-half points to Europe’s dramatic away victory over the USA, while also winning the Race to Dubai title.
Kildunne scored five tries as England won the Women’s Rugby World Cup this summer. Although she missed the quarter-final with concussion, Kildunne scored two tries in the semi-final win over France, and then added another in the final over Canada, having already helped seal Six Nations glory.
The Sports Personality of the Year will be awarded at a ceremony in Salford on December 18th, with viewers able to vote live during the show.
