For the 2024 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, Luke Littler was runner-up to winner Keely Hodgkinson. If you searched “who was runner up in sports personality of the year,” the answer depends on the edition, because the award is presented annually.
Here’s how the 2024 result was ranked, what “runner-up” means in this award, and how to make sure you’re looking at the right year.
who was runner up in sports personality of the year?
Luke Littler finished second in 2024. Keely Hodgkinson won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, with Littler in second place and Sarah Storey in third. The result was announced at the award ceremony in December 2024.
Littler, a professional darts player, had a standout year that included reaching the final of the PDC World Darts Championship. Hodgkinson, a middle-distance runner, won Olympic gold in the women’s 800 meters at the Paris 2024 Games. The award recognized Hodgkinson as the year’s top sports personality, while Littler received the next-highest placing.
| 2024 place | Person | Sport | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Keely Hodgkinson | Athletics | Winner |
| 2nd | Luke Littler | Darts | Runner-up |
| 3rd | Sarah Storey | Para cycling | Third place |
What does runner-up mean in the BBC award?
The runner-up is the person who finishes second in the final ranking. They are not the winner, but they rank ahead of the other shortlisted contenders. In the 2024 result, that person was Littler.
The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is an annual award decided by a public vote from a shortlist. The shortlist features athletes whose achievements and impact made them notable during that year. The order announced at the ceremony reflects the final ranking, not a separate award category for second place.
That distinction can cause confusion. “Runner-up” does not mean the runner-up in a particular sporting event, such as a championship final. It means second place in the SPOTY voting.
Why did Luke Littler finish second?
Littler’s second-place finish followed a remarkable year in darts. He reached the final of the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship as a teenager and continued to draw major attention to the sport. His performances helped make him one of the best-known names on the year’s shortlist.
Hodgkinson took the top spot after winning Olympic gold in the 800 meters. That achievement gave voters a clear, high-profile performance to consider. The final ranking reflects the public vote across the shortlist; it is not a panel’s technical comparison of athletes from different sports.
Because the nominees compete in different disciplines, there is no shared measure such as time, score, or distance that determines the award. Voters make a personal choice among the shortlisted candidates. That makes the result a public award ranking, rather than a direct contest between Littler and Hodgkinson.
How to check the runner-up for another year
The runner-up changes each year, so it helps to identify the edition before relying on a name. A search result may refer to a different ceremony or repeat a result without making the year clear.
- Find the ceremony year. Check whether the article or result refers to the 2024 award or another edition.
- Look for the final ranking. A shortlist shows nominees, but it does not by itself show who came first, second, or third.
- Separate the award from sports results. A person who placed second in a competition is not automatically the SPOTY runner-up.
- Confirm the named edition. Use a reliable report of that ceremony’s result when checking older rankings.
This is especially useful when a headline simply says “SPOTY runner-up.” The phrase may be accurate but incomplete without the year. Adding the year to your search helps distinguish one annual result from another.
Common mix-ups about the 2024 result
The runner-up was not the winner
Hodgkinson won the 2024 award. Littler finished second. Some short summaries mention both names without clearly stating their places, so check the ranking rather than assuming that the first name in a story is the winner.
The result was not a darts ranking
Littler’s runner-up place refers to the BBC award, not his position in a darts tournament or a season-long ranking. Those are separate results with different rules.
The answer is tied to a specific edition
There is no single person who is the runner-up every year. If a question does not name a year, give the year alongside the answer. That small detail prevents a correct name from being mistaken for a current or all-time answer.
So, for the 2024 BBC Sports Personality of the Year, the runner-up was Luke Littler, behind winner Keely Hodgkinson. If you meant another edition, first identify its ceremony year, then check that year’s final ranking.
For a quick check, search the award name together with the year and the words “final ranking.” That will help you distinguish the SPOTY result from an athlete’s placing in their own sport.