by Stuart Weir
Stuart Weir wrote this piece for RunBlogRun about the Sports Journalist annual awards, held this past week.
Sports Journalists Association (UK) annual awards
Beth Mead, England Soccer player, was voted Sportswoman of the Year, pipping Commonwealth gold medal-winning athlete Eilish McColgan (2nd) and World Championship bronze medallist Laura Muir (3rd). McColgan’s amazing 2022 was recognized with the SJA Committee Award.
Jake Wightman, who won 1500-meter gold at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, saw off cricketers Ben Stokes (2nd) and Jonny Bairstow (3rd) to become sportsman of the year for the first time. Jake was unable to attend the ceremony as he is training in Flagstaff.
Massive honour in what has been an amazing year for Scottish sport! 🏴 https://t.co/exgg39A2Lv
— Jake Wightman (@JakeSWightman) December 7, 2022
The sportsman, woman, and team of the year awards are voted for by the SJA membership.
The SJA Sports Awards were first staged in 1949 and are the oldest sports awards in Britain. Sponsored by The National Lottery, the event, staged at The Brewery in Central London, was attended by more than 300 guests from sports, politics, and the media.
The SJA Chairman’s Award was won by Barrie Wells, the philanthropist who has sponsored some of Great Britain’s finest athletes (including Katarina Johnson-Thompson) as well as running the Box4Kids charity through the Barrie Wells Trust, the charity has helped thousands of sick children and their families to enjoy trips to sports events that would have proved impossible without his support.
