Who won BBC Sports Personality of the Year? Winners revealed after public choses top sports star of 2025
The star-studded BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony took place last night, with the country’s biggest sports stars being celebrated on the night.
The annual event was held at MediaCity, Salford, with the result of the public vote on Sports Personality of the Year revealed.
Golfer Rory McIlroy took home the award this year, capping off a stellar 2025 that saw him become only the fifth man ever to complete a grand slam of the four major titles after overcoming Justin Rose in The Masters. He added to this with Team Europe’s first win on US soil in 13 years in the Ryder Cup, with McIlroy contributing three-and-a-half points towards the overall total.
McIlroy won the public vote for the prestigious award, with England rugby star Ellie Kildunne and newly-crowned Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris also placing within the top three. Lionesses Chloe Kelly and Hannah Hampton and teen darts sensation Luke Littler were among the rest of the nominees.
McIlroy’s win makes him the first golfer to win the SPOTY award since Sir Nick Faldo in 1989 and the first man to lift the trophy since Lewis Hamilton in 2020. He also became the first Northern Irishman to win since AP McCoy in 2010.
McIlroy, who flew from in from the Gold Channel Game in Florida for the ceremony, said: “2025 has been the year that I made my dreams come true. From Augusta to the Ryder Cup and everything else in between, it really has been the year that dreams are made of.
“I’ve a lot of people to thank. Firstly, the public, thank you for voting me as your Sports Personality of the Year, but my family, my mum and dad, they sacrificed so much for me and I obviously wouldn’t be here without them.
“My wife, Erica, my daughter, Poppy, they’re what holds me together, my rock. They couldn’t be here tonight, they’re back in America, but I can’t wait to get back to see them tomorrow and celebrate this with them as well. So thank you for all your support, everything that you’ve done for me over the years.”
Elsewhere, McIlroy also helped to lift the Team of the Year award, after the European Ryder Cup team topped the vote. Lioness manager Sarina Wiegman won Coach of the Year, while World Sports Star of the Year went to Swedish pole vault world champion Armand Duplantis.
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry took home the Lifetime Achievement Award. Meanwhile, Michelle Agyemang, a standout star during the Lioness’s European Cup-winning campaign, was awarded the Young Sports Personality of the Year.
The Helen Rollason award, which is given to recipients “for outstanding achievement in the face of adversity”, was awarded to Sergio Aguiar and David Standcombe, fathers of Alice de Silva Aguiar and Elsie Dot Standcombe. Alice, 9, and Elsie, 7, were killed alongside six-year-old Bebe King during an attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport in July 2024.
Since then, Sergio and David ran the London marathon in memory of the young girls. Sergio has gone on to run marathons in Berlin, Chicago and New York in a bid to complete the six World Marathon Majors to raise money to set up a foundation in his daughter’s name.