Gymnastics

Since the final ten were named last Monday, Manchester United fans up and down the country have been out in their drones backing Ryan Giggs to be crowned Sports Personality of the Year. The Welshman is now into 2/1 (from an opening 25/1), and with the nationwide gamble still gathering pace it’s safe to say there’ll be more than a few homes popping the champagne corks early this Christmas should Giggs end up with the coveted BBC gong.

Considering the United midfielder has made just 14 appearances and scored three goals since May, it’s actually not that easy to make a case for Giggs to receive the award, especially when you stack his yearly achievements up alongside those of the nine other record-breaking contenders. Hardened football fans will point out that the great man has had a record-breaking year too – equalling the Premier League appearance record as well as maintaining his record of scoring in every season of it.  Regardless of whether or not Giggs should be in the list, his rivals’ fans now have the unenviable task of voting enough times to make sure he doesn’t win it.

So who can stop him? Well, Jenson Button must have been halfway to the stage when he claimed his first World Drivers Championship in October. Such was the achievement that his price hit a low of 8/15 during the celebratory hours of his world title win, but that’s now drifting like the proverbial barge as a direct consequence of the Giggs support. The Brit from Brawn is now evens, an incredible price considering he looked to be home for all money a couple of months back, and the way things are going he may even be bigger than that by the time the show starts at 7pm Sunday night.

As a result of the front two being well clear, there are some extremely attractive prices on offer for the rest of the field. David Haye, hailed for his slaying of ‘Goliath’ Nikolay Valuev is now out to 20/1 (from 7/2) and Ashes winning skipper Andrew Strauss is bigger still, on offer at 25/1 having touched 6/1 in August. You can probably put a line through the likes of Beth Tweddle, Tom Daley, Andy Murray and Phillips Idowu, most of whom are 100/1+, but there may still be a couple of others capable of upsetting the apple cart. Heptathlete Jessica Ennis is solid at 11/2 third-favourite behind Giggs and Button, and there’s been some interesting money floating around for Mark Cavendish of late. The cycling-sprinter is 28/1 from 80/1 to come with a strong finish and pip the others at the post.

For all intensive purposes though, it now looks like a straight fight between Button and Giggs, two men who are very different ends of the spectrum when it comes to sporting careers. A vote for Button would be in honour of his fantastic rags-to-riches fairytale of an F1 season, where as giving Giggsy the nod no doubt reflects the achievements of a footballer who’s spent 19 seasons playing at the top level.

Lewis Hamilton failed to secure the award last year despite becoming F1 champ, and because of that we’re not too keen on Button’s chances. That’s why our evens is the best price in the entire industry right now, and we intend it to stay that way right up until show time.

The shortlist has been drawn up and we’re now down to the final 10 in the betting for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2010(announced 13^th December 2009). Let’s take a look at the contenders…

Andrew Murray – 80/1

Having promised so much it turned out to be a disappointing season for Britain’s number one. A year that began with victories in Abu Dhabi and Doha ended in a rather confusing first round exit at the o2’s ATP World Tour Finals in November. The Scot’s Wimbledon surge in July saw his odds drop to as little as 2/1 for the end of year award prior at one point, but a shock semi-final defeat at the hands of Andy Roddick soon saw to that.

Verdict: No slams, no chance

Andrew Strauss – 12/1

England had to win the Ashes for Strauss to be considered for this award. Luckily for him, they did. In addition to being captain, Strauss played an integral part of that triumph too, clocking up 474 series runs at an average of 52.66 as well as being named man-of-the-series. Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff have both picked up the BBC gong following successful Ashes campaigns in the past, so there is form in the book.

Verdict: Solid claims of a podium finish

Beth Tweddle – 40/1

Hailed as Britain’s most successful gymnast of all time, Tweddle will need every single vote of her leotard-wearing colleagues if she is to be hugging Sue Barker and Gary Lineker on Sunday 13^th December. Having missed out on an Olympic medal last year, Beth bounced back in fine style this year, becoming World Champion on the floor at October’s World Championships.

Verdict: Worthy of her place on the list

David Haye – 9/1

Despite only fighting once in ’09, Haye became an increasingly popular figure towards the end of it. His cat and mouse bought with Russian Nikolai Valuev in November was hardly an epic tussle, but David fending off Goliath for 12 rounds did capture the imagination of the public for a week or two. Heavyweight champs don’t come around that often however, so the boy from Bermondsey’s chances must be respected.

Verdict: Likeable lad in a sport that does well

Jenson Button – 8/11

The Brit from Brawn has been favourite for this for over six months now, and although others are starting to present themselves, it’ll still be a surprise if Button is not crowned the winner. It actually wasn’t until March that Jenson made it into the Blue Square list of runners for the SPOTY award such was the surprise with which his team emerged onto the F1 scene. Having lead the F1 championship from start to finish, Button will now attempt to do what Lewis Hamilton couldn’t last year and win the award as the reigning Drivers Champion.

Verdict: Odds-on and very much the one to beat

Jessica Ennis – 9/2

The number one heptathlete in the world and current World Champion. Considering Ennis had a year out and missed the Beijing Olympics due to an ankle injury it’s been an incredible year for the 23 year-old, in which she won Britain’s first ever heptathlon gold medal in Berlin posting several personal bests along the way. Like Button, the fact Ennis did all this on terrestrial TV will play a part and should help secure plenty of votes.

Verdict: Britain’s most successful athlete this year. Will go close.

Mark Cavendish – 40/1

The ‘Boy Racer’ smashed many a Tour de France record in 2009, winning six stages and becoming the first ever Briton to hold the green jersey for two days in a row. In fact, more often than not in July, if you tuned the TV on about 4pm on a weekday afternoon you’d be greeted with the site of Cavendish hurtling towards the line on track to yet another stage win. Winner of the Milan-Sanremo, he also published his first autobiography in June.

Verdict: Record-breaking year, but others appeal more

Phillips Idowu – 125/1

Colourful character who won the triple jump at the Berlin World Championships with a personal best in the final as well as the longest jump in the world this year (17.73m). Injuries have plagued the Belgrave Harrier’s career to date, but with a successful year under his belt the 30 year-old will still have strong hopes of staying healthy and making an impact at 2012.

Verdict: Eccentric personality a major plus, but hasn’t done enough

Ryan Giggs – 9/2

Subject to a major gamble over last few days, Giggsy’s odds have tumbled from 33/1 into just 9/2. The PFA Player of the Year and only one to have scored in every season of the Premier League since its inception in 1992, a vote for Giggs would be one for sentimental reasons rather than for his achievements over the last twelve months, but there are sure to be plenty of them.

Verdict: Don’t rule out the power of the red shirt

Tom Daley – 125/1

At just 15 years of age, Daley would become the youngest ever winner of the prestigious award, although at his current odds that seems unlikely. A surprise winner of the individual 10m platform title at the FINA World Championships in Rome, Daley unfortunately blotted his copybook by finishing only 9^th in the synchronised event with his partner Max Brick.

Verdict: Not this year, but a big hope for the future