BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2017: Sir Mo Farah ‘shocked’ to win

Sir Mo Farah holding SPOTY award

WORLD 10 000 m champion Sir Mo Farah said he was in shock and “can’t stop staring at the trophy” after being voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

The 34-year-old had been considered third favourite by bookmakers, but topped the poll ahead of motorcyclist Jonathan Rea and Para-athlete Jonnie Peacock.

“To be honest, I’m kind of shocked. I didn’t prepare any speech,” Farah, 34, said via a video link after the show.

Boxer Anthony Joshua, rated favourite to win, was just 18 votes behind Peacock in fourth place.

Farah, the winner of 10 major global titles, has just moved back to England from the United States and was not in Liverpool for the awards show.

In a chaotic interview from London during the programme, his stepdaughter Rhianna was alongside him, helping to take care of Farah’s two-year-old son Hussein who was suffering from a sickness bug and wanting cuddles.

As the result was announced, millions of viewers saw Farah’s initial delight at winning the award before the video link cut out.

After the show, the Somali-born Londoner told the media: “I can’t stop staring at the trophy. I do owe it to the public, to the people who voted for me and supported me.

“It’s incredible, amazing. To be honest with you, I never thought I would win having come so close before.

“What a night. It’s been very entertaining. I’ve got my son pulling my mic and Rhianna shouting out. [Presenter] Gabby [Logan] was talking to me and I couldn’t even hear what she was saying. I can’t do two things at once – I can’t.”

‘Hard to win’

Farah, one of 12 contenders for the award, has been shortlisted five times before and enjoyed his previous highest finish of third in 2011.

“Over the years, I’ve come third, fourth, or thereabouts, and I was like ‘this thing, is hard to win’. But I guess you just got to do what you’ve got to do and over the past 10 years I’ve been very lucky with the career I’ve had and the support I’ve had,” he said.

“The people who voted at home for me and have supported me on the track – without their support it’s a long road and I wouldn’t have done it without them, they keep me grafting.

“It’s been an incredible night. I do wish I was there. It would have been nice to give back to the people. The most important thing in my life is my family.

“My son’s ill, the twins have been sick. It’s been a pretty hard transition moving back from the US to here. They’ve been struggling a bit.

“You saw my son and, in fact, he was throwing up everywhere in the other room.”

Other award winners at Sports Personality 2017

• Young Sports Personality of the Year: Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden helped England win the Under-17 World Cup and took the Golden Ball award for the tournament’s best player.
• Unsung Hero: Volunteer Denise Larrad for her fundraising work. The 55-year-old has had one sole aim – to get the people of Hinckley in Leicestershire active.
• Lifetime Achievement: Former heptathlon champion Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill won Olympic gold at London 2012 and a silver at the Rio Games four years later.
• Overseas Sports Personality of the Year: Tennis player Roger Federerwon the award for a record fourth time after claiming his eighth Wimbledon title and 19th Grand Slam in 2017.
• Coach of the Year: Sprint coaches Benke Blomkvist,Stephen Maguireand Christian Malcolm helped GB’s men’s 4x100m team to World Championship gold.
• Team of the Year: England women’s cricket team produced a stunning fightback to beat India and win the World Cup in July.
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