Andy Murray honoured by BBC award, for the third time in the row, the British tennis player wins Sports Personality of the Year.
Andy spent anther glorious year, he showed the astounding results, among which is the Wimbledon title. Moreover, in 2016, Murray stormed to Olympic gold and became the first British tennis player to reach No 1 in the world. That’s why the award Sports Personality of the Year went to this young and perspective athlete.
This year, Murray’s principal rivals were the gold medal-winning triathlete Alistair Brownlee and 58-year-old showjumper Nick Skelton, who became the oldest British gold medallist since 1908 in Rio de Janeiro.
Andy Murray was in his Miami training camp while the airing the BBC ceremony with Prince William as one of the guest host. Mr Murray paid special tribute to his wife, Kim, and daughter, Sophia Olivia. The Murray’s sense of humour is unbelievable, he added:
“I’ve got a bone to pick with my wife, who told me an hour ago she had voted for Nick Skelton! It’s not smart of her with Christmas coming up. But I appreciate everyone’s support. It’s been an amazing year for British sport and I’m proud to have played a part in it.”
Skelton said he was grateful for the support of Murray’s wife but added: “She didn’t vote enough!”
Andy Murray: facts and figures of 2016
Andy Murray capped a fantastic year, the tennis player won nine titles and reached the final of 13 of the 17 tournaments he entered in 2016. Andy himself described these results “as the best year of my career and a great year for British tennis”. He added:
“Jo Konta finished in the top 10, my brother was No 1 in the doubles and Gordon Reid and Andy Lapthorne did well in the Paralympics, so I’m proud to be a part of that.”
In 2016, Andy Murray became a father as well, his daughter Sophia Olivia had been a big influence on his success, according to Andy:
“I’ve loved it. It was a challenge at the start but it made me realise there was more to life than just my sport. It’s obviously helped my performances on the court.”
In BBC voting, Murray got 247,419 votes – more than double that of Brownlee, who won 121,665 votes, and Skelton who had 109,197. Mo Farah, who won Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m gold, was fourth with 54,476 votes.
