In December 2020 I posted this piece about the BBC “Sports Personality of the Year” (or SPOTY for short). Here are 20 questions about the award, 10 of which have multiple choice answers. The answers to all of them appear at the end of this Post.

The Questions

1. Before Emma Raducanu won it in 2021, who was the most recent female winner of “Sports Personality of the Year”?
2. Who is the only rugby player to win “Sports Personality of the Year”?
3. Which boxer was the first person to win “Sports Personality of the Year” twice (in 1967 and 1970)?
4. In 1962, the first female winner of “Sports Personality of the Year” Anita Lonsborough won for her achievements in which sport?
5. Who was the first and is so far the only person to win “Sports Personality of the Year” three times?
6. John Surtees is the only “Sports Personality of the Year” winner from which sport?
7. Dai Rees in 1957 was the first golfer to win “Sports Personality of the Year”; who, in 1989, was the second?
8. Who are the only non-individual winners of “Sports Personality of the Year”?
9. Who is the only rower to win “Sports Personality of the Year”?
10. What is the only sport to produce three multiple “Sports Personality of the Year” winners?
11. In 1966, which England international was the first footballer to win “Sports Personality of the Year”?
    A Bobby Charlton B Bobby Moore C Geoff Hurst
12. Every cricketer who has won “Sports Personality of the Year” has done so in a year when England played a summer Test series against which country?
    A Australia B India C West Indies
13. Who is the only Snooker player to win “Sports Personality of the Year”?
    A Alex Higgins B Ronnie O’Sullivan C Steve Davis
14. Who is the only tennis player to win “Sports Personality of the Year” without winning one of the four Grand Slam tournaments?
    A Tim Henman B John Lloyd C Greg Rusedski
15. How many years separated the “Sports Personality of the Year” wins for Princess Anne and her daughter Zara Phillips?
    A 25 B 30 C 35
16. Who is the only “Sports Personality of the Year” winner from the sport of horse racing?
    A Lester Piggott B Tony McCoy C Willie Carson
17. Since 1972 who is the only athlete to win “Sports Personality of the Year” in the same year as winning Olympic gold?
    A Linford Christie B Mo Farah C Kelly Holmes
18. The first two winners of “Sports Personality of the Year” were competitors in what sport?
    A Athletics B Swimming C Cricket
19. Which of these first names is the only one to be shared by three different winners of “Sports Personality of the Year”?
    A Ian B Bobby C Steve
20. In what year did Daley Thompson win “Sports Personality of the Year”?
    A 1980 B 1982 C 1984

Questions and Answers

1. Zara Phillips (in 2006).
2. Jonny Wilkinson (in 2003, the year England won the Rugby World Cup).
3. Henry Cooper.
4. Swimming.
5. Andy Murray (in 2013, 2015 and 2016).
6. Motorcycle racing (in 1959).
7. Nick Faldo.
8. Torvill and Dean (in 1984, the year of the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo).
9. Steve Redgrave (in 2000).
10. Formula One (Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill, Lewis Hamilton have all won the award twice).
11. B Bobby Moore.
12. A Australia.
13. C Steve Davis (in 1988).
14. C Greg Rusedski (in 1997).
15. C 35 (1971 to 2006).
16. B Tony McCoy (in 2010).
17. C Kelly Holmes (in 2004).
18. A Athletics.
19. C Steve (Steve: Ovett, Cram, Redgrave).
20. B 1982.