Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson leads the nominees for the 2024 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.

The 22-year-old athlete is the favourite to claim the prize after winning 800 metres gold in Paris in the summer as part of a brilliant year.

Hodgkinson also took European Championships gold and her new British record of one minute 54.61 seconds made her the sixth fastest woman in history over the distance.

Should Hodgkinson win, it would be the first time the award has been given to female athletes four years in a row – with Mary Earps, Beth Mead and Emma Raducanu the last three winners.

Hodgkinson is joined on the six-strong shortlist by fellow Olympic gold medallist Alex Yee, Real Madrid and England midfielder Jude Bellingham, Paralympic record-breaker Dame Sarah Storey, England cricket star Joe Root and darts sensation Luke Littler.

Littler is in the running for Young Sports Personality of the Year but could also win the main award after becoming one of the most talked-about teenagers in Britain.

The 17-year-old made headlines when he became the youngest player to reach the final of the PDC World Championship in January.

While he lost out on the title to Luke Humphries, he has built on that breakthrough in superb fashion, becoming Premier League champion and winning the Grand Slam of Darts.

Triathlete Yee and cyclist Storey both shone in Paris.

Yee went into the Olympics as favourite for gold but looked set to miss out to New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde only to stage a remarkable recovery in the closing stages of the race.

He also helped Britain take bronze in the team relay and went on to win a first world triathlon title.

Storey turned 47 in October but that did not stop her continuing to dominate on two wheels, winning the time trial for a fifth successive Paralympics and road race for a fourth, taking her tally of gold medals to 19.

Bellingham is still only 21 but was one of the stars of Real Madrid’s team during his first season in Spain, helping them win the LaLiga and Champions League titles.

He finished third in the Ballon d’Or standings – the first English player to make the top three since Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard in 2005 – and helped England reach the final of the European Championship.

Root also had a 2024 to remember, breaking Sir Alastair Cook’s record to become England’s highest ever Test run-scorer.

He has racked up more Test runs than any other player this year and last week equalled his career best with his sixth century of 2024.

The winner will be decided by a public vote during the live show in Salford on Tuesday, December 17. The show

The show will be presented by Gabby Logan, Alex Scott and Clare Balding, with the BBC having confirmed last month that Gary Lineker had stepped down from his role as co-host after more than 20 years.