"this turned Van Damme into a national icon and a reminder of a glorious past and missed opportunity. It was not until the 2000s with the arrival of Kim Gevaert and Tia Hellebaut that Belgian athletics got a boost again. Ivo Van Damme Ivo Van Damme (21 February 1954 – 29 December 1976) was a Belgian middle-distance runner. Van Damme played football until he was 16, but then switched to athletics. His breakthrough came in 1973, when he placed fourth in the 800 m at the European Junior Championships. He suffered from mononucleosis the following season, but returned strong beating"
"Year: Conrad Broughton (England) 2011: Person of the Year: Matti Chasan Bergstein (Denmark) 2012: The first Person of the Year since the sport was rebranded: VX Uganda. Unusually, the award did not go to one individual but was presented to VX Uganda as a body to recognise the work and effort that had been made by several people to grow the sport in Africa 2013: Person of the Year: Eric Clark (Ripon Lions) & John Sheepy (Boroughbridge Lions) 2014: Person of the Year: Tony Notarianni (USA) 2015: Person of the Year: Dr Suman Shankar Tiwari (India) 2016: Person of the"
"to jockey Lester Piggott in 1984 and 1994, disabled marathon runner Dennis Moore in 1981, comedian David Walliams in 2006, and comedian Eddie Izzard in 2009. Sebastian Coe picked up a Special Gold Award in 2005 for his work in helping Britain obtain the right to host the 2012 Olympics. Five awards have been presented once: Manager of the Year in 1969, a Special Team Award in 1986, Good Sport Awards in 1990, an International Team Award in 1983, and the Sports Personality of the Century Award in 1999. In 2003, to celebrate fifty years of Sports Personality of the"
"In 2001, the award was replaced by the Young Sports Personality of the Year, and sprinter Amy Spencer was the first recipient of that award. Scottish tennis player Andy Murray, who won in 2004, is the only non-English recipient of the award. The only person to win the award more than once is diver Tom Daley, who won the award three times, in 2007, 2009, and 2010, and was nominated to the ten-person shortlist in five successive years (2007–2011). The most recent award was presented in 2017 to Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden. <nowiki>*</nowiki> Including a Newcomer of the Year"
"BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award The BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award is the main award of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony, which takes place each December. The winner is the sportsperson, judged by a public vote, to have achieved the most that year. The recipient must either be British or reside and play a significant amount of their sport in the United Kingdom. The winner is selected by a public-vote from a pre-determined shortlist. The most recent award winner is cyclist Geraint Thomas , who won in 2018. Sports Personality of the Year"
"history of association football. Belgium hosted the 1972 European Football Championships, and co-hosted the 2000 European Championships with the Netherlands. The Belgium national football team reached first place in the FIFA World Rankings for the first time in November 2015. Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin both were Player of the Year in the Women's Tennis Association as they were ranked the number one female tennis player. The Spa-Francorchamps motor-racing circuit hosts the Formula One World Championship Belgian Grand Prix. The Belgian driver, Jacky Ickx, won eight Grands Prix and six 24 Hours of Le Mans and finished twice as runner-up"
"team (2017), Iceland national football team (2017) and Leicester City F.C. (2017). British and Spanish sportspeople have won more awards than any other nationality with four, followed by Americans, Germans and Chinese with two. Golfers are the most successful overall with six wins followed by Formula One drivers with five. The winner in 2017 was the German Formula One driver Nico Rosberg. Having beaten teammate Lewis Hamilton to the 2016 World Championship title by five points, Rosberg announced his retirement from the sport five days later, two months prior to collecting his Laureus statuette. The 2018 winner of the Laureus"
"2017 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award The 2017 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award took place on 17 December 2017 at the Echo Arena in Liverpool. It was the 64th presentation of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. Awarded annually by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the main award honours an individual's British sporting achievement over the past year, with the winner selected by public vote from a twelve-person shortlist. The event, broadcast live on BBC One, was hosted by Gary Lineker, Clare Balding and Gabby Logan. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds opened the ceremony"
"Memorial Van Damme triple jump events made him the inaugural 2010 IAAF Diamond League triple jump overall winner. He announced a change of coach at the end of the season, starting work with four-time long jump world champion Iván Pedroso. He was recognised as the 2010 European Athletics Rising Star of the Year for his breakthrough year. Tamgho started 2011 in similarly strong form as he improved his world indoor record by a centimetre to win the French National Indoor Championships senior triple jump title for the third time with a jump of 17.91m. He improved his world indoor record"
"team. All winners to date have been British. Nominations are put forward via Youth Sport Trust, and a judging panel then decides on a ten-person shortlist. The panel later reconvenes to choose the top three, and decides on the winner by secret ballot. The Young Sports Personality of the Year award was preceded by the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Newcomer Award, in which the recipients could be aged up to 25. Decathlete Dean Macey was the inaugural winner of the Newcomer Award in 1999, and racing driver Jenson Button was the second and last winner the following year."
"Grand Prix in August, turn 11 will be named after famous Belgian racing driver Jacky Ickx as a tribute to his career. This corner with no official name is known by most drivers as ""speakers corner"". This name originates in the fact that it was the first corner the ""Speaker"", the man at the microphone during races, could see the cars after they disappeared into the forest after Raidillon, thus reporting who was in the lead. Due to the introduction of the Television Without Frontiers Directive (1989), tobacco advertising and sponsorship on television were banned within the European Union from"
"the most legendary partnerships. In 2005, Tom Kristensen surpassed Ickx's record and when Kristensen announced his proposed retirement at the end of the 2014 season had nine victories. From 1976 on, he was a factory driver for Porsche and their new turbocharged race cars, the 935 and especially the 936 sports car, which he drove to wins in Le Mans three times. These drives, as well as the losing effort in 1978, often in the rain and at night, were some of the finest ever. Ickx considers the 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans race to be his favourite win"
"Sports personality of the year award on two occasions. Quigley won the ISKA Professional World Super Heavyweight Kickboxing title in Derry City, Northern Ireland in March 2013. Quigley is also head Coach of the new gym Strike Martial Arts Academy. So far, he has coached three of his fighters to become champions. Daniel Quigley Daniel Pinta Quigley is a four time world professional kickboxer from Derry, Northern Ireland. He was coached by the former three time world kickboxing champion Paddy Toland at PT's Kickboxing Gym in Carrigans, he now trains and coaches out of out of his own gym called"
"160 countries. Swiss tennis player Roger Federer holds the record for the most awards with six. A number of awards have been rescinded, namely those presented to American cyclist Lance Armstrong, American sprinter Marion Jones and Canadian amputee sprinter Earle Connor, all of whom were subsequently found to have doped. South African businessman Johann Rupert, chairman of Richemont, proposed that an organisation be created ""based on the principle that sport can bridge the gaps in society and change the way people look at the world."" The organisation, established in 1998 by a partnership of Richemont and Daimler became known as"
"each finished on the podium once. Bertrand Gachot, who was born in Luxembourg as the son of French-German parents carried a French passport but raced under a Belgian FIA Super Licence until 1991. From the 1992 Formula One season he changed to a French licence. <nowiki>*</nowiki>Competed under French racing license in 1992 and 1994–1995. Formula One drivers from Belgium There have been 24 Formula One drivers from Belgium, of which Jacky Ickx and Thierry Boutsen were the most successful ones as they were the only Belgians to win races. The most recent Belgian driver is Stoffel Vandoorne, who was promoted"
"Formula One drivers from Belgium There have been 24 Formula One drivers from Belgium, of which Jacky Ickx and Thierry Boutsen were the most successful ones as they were the only Belgians to win races. The most recent Belgian driver is Stoffel Vandoorne, who was promoted to a full-time race seat in the McLaren Honda Formula One team for the 2017 Formula One season. In the early years of Formula One, Belgium was well represented with a highlight in 1953 when there were no less than seven Belgian drivers taking part in the championship. The first victory for a Belgian"
"1999, a one-off award voted for by the British public selected a Sports Personality of the Century. Muhammad Ali accumulated more votes from BBC viewers than the combined total of the five other contenders: Pelé, George Best, Donald Bradman, Jack Nicklaus, and Jesse Owens. In 2005, Sebastian Coe received a Special Gold Award for chairing London's winning bid for the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic games. As part of the 50th Anniversary of BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2003, two additional awards were presented. In the lead up to the anniversary show on 2003, a series of five"
"having won his first in 1986. Sue Barker presented the show for the first time in 1994, at which racing driver Damon Hill won the first of his two awards, the second coming two years later. Boxer Frank Bruno was the inaugural winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996, and as of 2014 there have been 15 recipients of the award. In 1999 the show was renamed ""Sports Personality of the Year"", and Gary Lineker joined the show as a co-presenter alongside Rider and Barker. They were supported that year by John Inverdale and Clare Balding. The ceremony introduced"
"were recognised separately from 1959 onwards. The men's award was called the Herman van Leeuwen Cup during this period. Since 1993, the award has been known as the Dutch Athlete of the Year. Junior male athletes also gained recognition through the Albert Spree Cup from 1951 while the best junior female athlete was first awarded the Fanny Blankers-Koen plaque in 1959. A mixed gender junior award is now known as the Talent of the Year. The Joke van Rijswijk Prize was added in 2004 in recognition of services to disability athletics. Dutch Athlete of the Year The Dutch Athlete of"
"sportsperson had the most total points. In the case of a points tie, the sportsperson chosen as first preference by the most panellists is the winner. If this is also a tie the award is shared. In 2015 the public voted for this award. The Overseas Personality award was first presented in 1960, six years after the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award was introduced. The first recipient of the award was Australian middle distance runner Herb Elliott. Since then, the award has been presented to 49 sportspersons. Swiss tennis player Roger Federer has won the award four times."
"part of the SportsRacing World Cup (the predecessor to the FIA Sportscar Championship), running to a 2-hour, 30 minute time limit. In 2003, the 1000 km race was resumed as a joint event of the FIA SCC with the British GT Championship. In 2004, it was part of the Le Mans Series (LMS), and in 2011 was also part of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. From 2012 onwards the race has been part of the FIA World Endurance Championship, albeit in the format of a six-hour race. Jacky Ickx currently holds record of most wins, having won the race 5"
"place overall in the drivers' championship. 1997 for the Italian, however, would be remembered for winning the Le Mans 24 Hours with the same car as the previous year, but this time alongside Swede Stefan Johansson, another former F1 teammate, and Dane Tom Kristensen, who would later go onto beat Jacky Ickx's record for winning the most Le Mans 24 Hour races. The trio completed 361 laps, one more than second placed Gulf Team Davidoff's BMW-powered McLaren F1 GTR. This would prove to be the peak of Alboreto's sportscar success as he failed to finish at Le Mans in 1999"
"from ""mainstream"" sports. He received 293,152 votes, which was more than former winners Joe Calzaghe (2007), Sir Chris Hoy (2008) or Ryan Giggs (2009). He made the final shortlist of ten for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2013 after surpassing the landmark total of 4000 career winners over jumps during the course of the 2013/2014 National Hunt racing season. McCoy finished in third place behind the winner Andy Murray and runner up Leigh Halfpenny. He was named 2013 RTÉ Irish Sports Personality of the Year on 21 December 2013. McCoy was born in Moneyglass, County Antrim. He and his"
"2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award The 2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, presented on 16 December, was the 59th presentation of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. Awarded annually by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the main titular award honours an individual's British sporting achievement over the past year, with the winner selected by public vote from a 12-person shortlist. The winner of the 2012 award was Bradley Wiggins, the Tour de France and Olympic time trial champion. The awards ceremony was hosted at ExCeL London, which had been a venue for several"
"French-speaking association). Belgium has hosted a number of major athletics events, beginning with the 1950 European Athletics Championships. It has since hosted the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 1973, 1991, 2001 and 2004, the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 1993 and 2002 and the 2000 European Athletics Indoor Championships (at the Flanders Sports Arena). Belgium hosts a number of prominent annual competitions across all sections of the sport of athletics. The Memorial Van Damme, Belgium's foremost track and field competition, began in 1977 and is now part of the IAAF Diamond League circuit. Two of the meetings in"
"Merckx have both won the title 3 times, and Georges Ronsse, Briek Schotte, Rik Van Looy and Freddy Maertens have all won twice. Women have won 6 gold medals at the women's road race event, with 4 for Yvonne Reynders. Other famous riders who won the title include Stan Ockers, Johan Museeuw and Tom Boonen. The first season-long competition in road cycling, the Challenge Desgrange-Colombo was introduced in 1948, and first won by Belgian rider Briek Schotte. Later in 1955, Stan Ockers became the second Belgian to win the competition. From 1956 to 1958, Fred de Bruyne won the trophy"
"BBC Sports Personality of the Year The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is an awards ceremony that takes place annually in December. Devised by Paul Fox in 1954, it originally consisted of just one, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. Several new awards have been introduced, and currently eight awards are presented. The first awards to be added were the Team of the Year and Overseas Personality awards, which were introduced in 1960. A Lifetime Achievement Award was first given in 1995 and again in 1996, and has been presented annually since 2001. In 1999, three more"
"Jacky Ickx in a Ferrari. But this was the last time the old triangle-shaped Spa was to be used for Formula One – the circuit proved to be just too fast and dangerous, even with safety modifications. The Belgian Grand Prix was originally scheduled to be on the following year's calendar, but was taken off the calendar after the circuit was not up to FIA-newly mandated safety specs. The race would move to Nivelles and Zolder. The Dutch Grand Prix of 1970 saw the revolutionary Lotus 72 stamp its authority on the Formula One scene. Although the car made its"
"given to the best British sportsperson of the year, as voted for by the British public. The public also votes for the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year, presented to a non-British sportsperson considered to have made the most substantial contribution to a sport each year which has also captured the imagination of the British public. Recipients have included Pelé (after winning his third World Cup in 1970), Muhammad Ali (after regaining the heavyweight title in 1974), Jonah Lomu (for his performances at the 1995 Rugby World Cup), Ronaldo (for his comeback in winning the 2002 World Cup), and"
"2016 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award The 2016 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award took place on 18 December 2016 at the Genting Arena in Birmingham. It was the 63rd presentation of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. Awarded annually by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the main award honours an individual's British sporting achievement over the past year, with the winner selected by public vote from a sixteen-person shortlist; the winner was Tennis player Andy Murray, who became the first person to win the award three times. The event, broadcast live on BBC One,"
"have been represented; athletics has the highest representation, with 17 recipients. Counting Torvill and Dean separately, there have been 48 English winners of the award, six Scottish, five Welsh, three Northern Irish, and one Manx. Since the award ceremony began only on one occasion (2013) have none of the podium placers been English. On three occasions a sportsman from outside the United Kingdom has made the podium, on each occasion for sporting success achieved in Great Britain; New Zealand speedway star Barry Briggs (1964 and 1966) and Italian jockey Frankie Dettori (1996). Barry McGuigan, Greg Rusedski and Lennox Lewis originally"
"Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year Since its inception in 1954, ""Sports Illustrated"" magazine has annually presented the Sportsperson of the Year award to ""the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement."" Both Americans and non-Americans are eligible, though in the past the vast majority of winners have been from the United States. Both men and women have won the award, originally called ""Sportsman of the Year"" and renamed ""Sportswoman of the Year"" or ""Sportswomen of the Year"" when applicable; it is currently known as ""Sportsperson of the Year."" Tiger Woods and"
"also announced: 2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award The 2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, presented on 16 December, was the 59th presentation of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. Awarded annually by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the main titular award honours an individual's British sporting achievement over the past year, with the winner selected by public vote from a 12-person shortlist. The winner of the 2012 award was Bradley Wiggins, the Tour de France and Olympic time trial champion. The awards ceremony was hosted at ExCeL London, which had been a venue"