Ryder Cup-winner, Rory McIlroy is this year’s ‘S.P.O.T.Y.’ (BBC Sports Personality of the Year), with him achieving golfing immortality in April by completing the career Grand Slam with his first Masters title at Augusta National, in the US.

Seeing off Formula 1 driver Lando Norris, Lionesses’ star Chloe Kelly and Hannah Hampton, darts sensation Luke Littler and women’s World Cup-winning rugby captain Ellie Kildunne, it was a double winner on the night, the Northern Irishman was part of the European collective that, as a public vote, was ‘Team of the Year’. McIlroy played a key role in the team's first Ryder Cup win in the United States since 2012 and also delighted his home crowd by winning the Irish Open for a second time, with further successes at the Players Championship and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, before topping off a stellar year with his seventh Race to Dubai title.

‘Young Sports Personality of the Year’ went to Michelle Agyemang, who, just three months after her international debut, came off the bench to score crucial late equalisers in both the quarter-final and semi-final in England's run to Euro 2025 glory. On loan at Brighton from Arsenal, she was named young player of the tournament and was later awarded with the ‘Golden Girl’ trophy, for being the best young player in Europe.

Other winners included Sarina Wiegman, who, after guiding the England women’s football team to successive European Championship titles with victory against Spain in the Euro 2025 final, was voted ‘Coach of the Year.’ The victory meant the Lionesses became the first England team - women's or men's - to win a major trophy on foreign soil.

Success led to Wiegman being named women's coach of the year at the 2025 Ballon d'Or awards, while she also won the women's coach prize at the Fifa Best Awards for a record fifth time.

The ‘Helen Rollason Award’ winners were two of the parents of the Southport tragedy, Sergio Aguiar and David Stancombe. On 29 July 2024, three young girls - Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and six-year-old Bebe King - were killed during an attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop in the Lancashire seaside town.

In April this year, Sergio Aguiar and David Stancombe, the fathers of Alice and Elsie, ran the London Marathon in their memory. Sergio has since run marathons in Berlin, Chicago and New York as he aims to complete the six World Marathon Majors to raise money for a foundation set up in his daughter's name.

Meanwhile, the ‘World Sport Star of the Year’ went to Sweden's Duplantis, who, once again, soared above his rivals to capture a third pole vault World Championship gold in 2025.

In doing so, he set yet another world record of 6.30m - his fourth of this year alone - and the 14th of his remarkable career. He also retained his indoor world title - meaning he has won eight successive golds in major global competitions - and won all 16 of his events to become the first male pole vaulter in modern history to go undefeated for two successive years.

This year’s ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ went to football legend, Thierry Henry. The former Arsenal, Barcelona and France forward is widely considered to be one of the greatest players to ever play in the Premier League.

During his time as a Gunner, he became the club's record goalscorer with 228 goals in 377 matches and won three FA Cups and two Premier League titles. In international football, the 48-year-old won the World Cup on home soil in 1998 and was an integral part of the France side that won the European Championship in 2000.