As the BBC Sports Personality of the Year celebrates its 70th anniversary this week, OK! chats exclusively to one of its most iconic winners - long-distance runner Paula Radcliffe.
Paula, 49, won the trophy back in 2002, becoming the first woman to do so in over a decade, and beating a certain footballing golden boy.
She was especially grateful for the win, she tells us, because it was voted for by members of the public “filling in a coupon and sending it in”, rather than simply clicking a button. “I grew up watching Sports Personality every year, it was a bit like the London Marathon, we’d all sit down at home and watch it,” she remembers. “The fact people went to so much trouble to vote, it really meant a lot, especially given who I was up against that year.” Paula’s win left fellow nominee David Beckham empty-handed - a fact her teenage daughter was stunned to recently learn “We were actually watching the Beckham documentary recently and I said, ‘he was second when I won it’, she was like, ‘no!?.” Throughout her incredible professional career - which included several Commonwealth, European and World Championship titles, as well a plethora of wins at the London Marathon.
Her career took her - and those watching and supporting her - on something of an emotional rollercoaster. She dominated the professional marathon circuit throughout the noughties, after achieving massive success in cross country and 5,000 and 10,000m events in the nineties.
Read more on ok.co.uk
Get the latest stars news and celebrity rumours with exclusive stories, photos, videos and interviews.
Breaking up, scandals, engagements, divorces, gossip – all you need to know about the private lives of your favorite celebs.
Get to know the latest showbiz news along with exclusive interviews and even more. All this is waiting for you on the main page 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! Who, where, when, with whom, how, why and for what!? Stay tuned to know first!
Just follow us daily and we will provide you with the current news from the life of famous stars and celebrities.
Owner: SNOWLAND s.r.o.
Registration certificate 06691200
Address:
Snowland s.r.o.
16200, Na okraji 381/41, Veleslavín, 162 00 Praha 6
Czech Republic
©2024. All rights reserved.