Sport is woven into the fabric of Britain and our athletes are among some of the most famous people in the world. From school football tournaments to hosting the Olympic games, Britons participate in sport at every conceivable level. This award is for achievements in the promotion, participation or encouragement of sport throughout the year.
Lewis Hamilton began racing go-karts at age 8 and went on to win the McLaren Mercedes Champions of the Future series. At age 10 he met Ron Dennis, the owner and director of the McLaren Formula 1 team, and told him he wanted to race in F1. At 13 years old McLaren signed Lewis to its young drivers program and supported his career through karting and car racing, signing him as a full-time F1 driver for the 2007 season. This year, Hamilton finished second in the 2007 Formula One Championship, behind Kimi Räikkönen. In additions to his numerous F1 rookie records, he is the first black driver to compete in Formula One.
External Links
Lewis Hamilton’s official website
McLaren
Robin Knox-Johnston is widely known for becoming the first man to circumnavigate the globe non-stop and single-handed on 22 April 1969. This year, he completed his second solo circumnavigation of the world in the yacht SAGA Insurance on 4 May 2007, finishing in 4th place in the Velux 5 Oceans race. At 68 he was the oldest competitor in the race.
Ricky Hatton is seen by many as one of the greatest British fighters of all time and currently one of the top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in the world. He has a career record of 43 wins (31 by Knock out). Born in Stockport, Hatton started boxing at the age of 10 and made his professional debut back in 1997. While he has fluctuated between welterweight and light welterweight he has been a champion in both classes. This year he regained the latter title by fighting Juan Urango only to relinquish it so that he could fight Jose Luis Castillo, who was floored for the first time ever by Hatton’s powerful left hook in the first round. Despite his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr in December this year, having moved back up to welterweight, he has vowed to carry on fighting and has already been challenged by WBC light-welterweight champion Junior Witter.
External Links
Ricky Hatton’s official website
HBO Boxing