Alistair Brownlee has come second, behind tennis world number one and 2016 Wimbledon winner Andy Murray, at BBC Sports Personality of the Year. In third place was showjumper Nick Skelton who, like the other two, also won gold in Rio.
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The awards were held at a glittering ceremony at the Genting Arena in Birmingham and were presented by Gary Lineker, Clare Balding and Gabby Logan.
Alistair was the first triathlete to be nominated for the award and it followed a fantastic 2016 when he became the first triathlete ever to defend his Olympic gold in Rio.
But it was his feats at the 2016 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Cozumel, Mexico, in September that shot him to global prominence. The video of Alistair running with an exhausted Jonathan to the finishing line became the BBC’s most watched ever. Alistair could have won the race, but sacrificed victory to help his stricken brother across the line.
These emotional scenes were once again shown in the programme, earning Alistair one of the biggest cheers of the night from the show’s audience. And when asked what he said to Jonny in that moment in Mexico, he said, in a typical Yorkshire fashion, that he called him a ” **** idiot!”
Congrats Alistair Brownlee – you did triathlon proud – and yes you are supposed to ask for our votes!
Are you supposed to ask for votes in this situation? #notsureoftheprotocol #spoty #VoteBrownlee pic.twitter.com/XbYXu9WBgZ
— Alistair Brownlee (@AliBrownleetri) December 18, 2016
The other nominations were:
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Nicola Adams – Boxing, Gareth Bale – Football, Alistair Brownlee – Triathlon, Sophie Christiansen – Equestrian, Kadeena Cox – Athletics/Cycling, Mo Farah – Athletics, Jason Kenny – Cycling, Laura Kenny – Cycling, Andy Murray – Tennis, Adam Peaty – Swimming, Kate Richardson-Walsh – Hockey, Nick Skelton – Equestrian, Dame Sarah Storey – Cycling, Jamie Vardy – Football, Max Whitlock – Gymnastics, Danny Willett – Golf.
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