The BBC World Sport Star of the Year (formerly known as the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year) is an award presented at the annual BBC Sports Personality of the Year award ceremony. The award is presented to a non-British sportsperson considered to have made the most substantial contribution to a sport in that year.
History The Overseas Personality award was first presented in 1960, six years after the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award was introduced. The first recipient of the award was Australian middle distance runner Herb Elliott. Since then, the award has been presented to 53 sportspersons. Swiss tennis player Roger Federer has won the award four times. American boxer Muhammad Ali and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt have both won the award three times. The award has been shared on three occasions—by Ron Clarke and Gary Player in 1965, Eusébio and Garfield Sobers in 1966, and Evander Holyfield and Michael Johnson in 1996. The husband-and-wife skating duo of Oleg Protopopov and Ludmila Belousova are the only pair to have won the award, doing so in 1968. Belousova was the first woman to become Overseas Personality—she was also the oldest, aged 33. George Moore is the oldest recipient of the award, winning in 1967 aged 44. The youngest recipient of the award is Nadia Comăneci, who won in 1976 at age 15. Boris Becker, who was 18 when he won in 1985, is the youngest male to have won.
Twenty-seven countries have been represented by the award winners as of 2024. United States sportspersons have won the award the most times, having had nineteen recipients, two of whom shared the award. Another US-born sportsperson received the award while representing Sweden. Three cricketers have received the award -- Garfield Sobers of Barbados, Brian Lara of Trinidad and Tobago (both of whom played for the West Indies cricket team), and Shane Warne of Australia. Fourteen sporting disciplines have been represented; tennis has the highest representation, with fifteen recipients.
Only one winner has ever been stripped of the award – US cyclist Lance Armstrong, whose 2003 award was rescinded following the UCI's 2012 decision to strip him of his titles and ban him for life from the sport.
In 2018, the award was renamed BBC World Sport Star of the Year. Along with the change of name, votes could be cast from outside of the UK for the first time.
Nomination procedure The award was decided by a panel of over 30 sporting journalists. Each panellist voted for their top two choices; their first preference was awarded two points, and their second preference was awarded one point. The winning sportsperson had the most total points. In the case of a points tie, the sportsperson chosen as first preference by the most panellists is the winner. If this is also a tie the award is shared. In 2015 the public voted for this award.
Winners By year
+ BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year winnersYearNationalityWinnerSportNote1960 Athletics 1961 Athletics 1962 Figure skating 1963 Cycling 1964 Athletics 1965 Athletics Golf 1966 Eusébio Football Cricket 1967 Horse racing 1968 Figure skating Figure skating 1969 Tennis 1970 Pelé Football 1971 Golf 1972 Gymnastics 1973 (1/3) Boxing 1974 (2/3) Boxing 1975 Tennis 1976 Gymnastics 1977 Formula One 1978 (3/3) Boxing 1979 Tennis 1980 Golf 1981 Tennis 1982 Tennis 1983 Athletics 1984 Golf 1985 Tennis 1986 (1/2) Golf 1987 Tennis 1988 Tennis1989 Boxing 1990 Rugby league 1991 Athletics 1992 Tennis 1993 (2/2) Golf 1994 Cricket 1995 Rugby union 1996 Boxing Athletics1997 Tennis 1998 Golf 1999 Athletics2000 Golf 2001 Tennis 2002 Ronaldo Football 2003 Cycling 2004 (1/4) Tennis 2005 Cricket 2006 (2/4) Tennis 2007 (3/4) Tennis 2008 (1/3) Athletics 2009 (2/3) Athletics 2010 Tennis 2011 Tennis 2012 (3/3) Athletics 2013 Formula One 2014 Cristiano Ronaldo Football 2015 Dan Carter Rugby union 2016 Gymnastics 2017 (4/4) Tennis BBC World Sports Personality of the Year winners2018 Golf 2019 Athletics 2020 Mixed martial arts 2021 Horse racing 2022 Football 2023 Football 2024 (1/2) Athletics 2025 (2/2) Athletics
By nationality This table lists the total number of awards won by place of birth. NationalityNumber of wins 18 8 5 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
By sport This table lists the total number of awards won by recipient's sporting profession. Sporting professionNumber of winsTennis 17Athletics 13Golf 9Football 6Boxing 5Cricket 3Figure skating 3Gymnastics 3Formula One 2Horse racing2Rugby union 2Cycling 1 Rugby league 1Mixed martial arts 1
By gender This table lists the total number of awards won by gender. GenderNumber of winsMale 52.5Female 8.5
Note The fractions refer to occasions on which the awarded was shared between more than one person.
See also Athlete of the Year Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year (Laureus World Sports Academy) Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year L'Équipe Champion of Champions
References General
Specific