England & Arsenal winger Beth Mead is awarded BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2022; the 27-year-old is the first woman to win the accolade; Mead triumphed ahead of England Test cricket captain Ben Stokes; England Women are named Team of the Year, with Sarina Wiegman named Coach of the Year. Arsenal Beth Mead, an England and Arsenal winger, was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year after winning the Women’s Euros and the tournament Golden Boot in 2022.
Arsenal winger Beth Mead wins Personality of the Year
The 27-year-old, who is the first woman to receive the prize, scored six goals as the Lionesses stormed to their first major championship this summer, defeating Germany 2-1 in extra time at Wembley Stadium to win Euro 2022. She was also named UEFA’s Tournament Player of the Tournament. She has also been in excellent form for Arsenal, capping off a remarkable comeback for the Arsenal winger after she was left out of Team GB’s team for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
However, she damaged her ACL three weeks ago during Arsenal’s WSL loss to Manchester United and now faces a race to be ready for next year’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Mead, who just signed a new deal with Arsenal, beat out England Test cricket captain Ben Stokes and Olympic curling champion Eve Muirhead in the BBC public vote. The six-person shortlist also included gymnast Jessica Gadirova, 1500-meter world champion Jake Wightman, and seven-time world snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Also Read: Cristiano Ronaldo all set to earn €200m euros per year after Portugal’s FIFA World Cup 2022 campaign
Mead, visibly moved, stated: “I’m overjoyed to have won this honor
Also Read: Cristiano Ronaldo transfer tug of war emerges as the second club prepare lucrative bid
I couldn’t have done it without those females and the crew that supported me. Yes, I have this award; I performed my job, and I scored a few goals, but I couldn’t have done it without them. And I couldn’t have done it without my mother, father, and the whole family. Most importantly, this is for women’s sports, and for women’s sports to go forward. So let’s keep pushing the girls and doing the right thing.
Her victory makes her the 13th solo female winner of the prize, with Jayne Torvill also winning it in 1984 as part of her ice dance pair with Christopher Dean. She is also just the sixth footballer in the award’s 68-year history to receive it. Her win completed the Lionesses’ hat-trick of accolades on the night, as the team was named Team of the Year for their Euros success, and Sarina Wiegman was named Coach of the Year. Wiegman took over as England coach in September 2021, after leading her own nation, the Netherlands, to the same championship in 2017.
Also Read: Argentina World Cup Champions!
Charlotte Marsh: Mead’s meteoric climb has culminated in a SPOTY award.
Also Read: Aberdeen 2-3 Rangers: Scott Arfield’s dramatic stoppage-time double secures victory at Pittodrie
If you had asked Mead a year ago what her expectations for 2022 were, she may have struggled to list even half of the great experiences she has had in the previous year. Her Olympic failure will undoubtedly be remembered in 2021. However, 2022 has been called the “Beth Mead vengeance tour,” and the music has now reached a peak with a well-deserved BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.
Winning the Euros in July will always be the year’s climax. The first major victory for the Lionesses, the first major trophy won by a senior England squad since 1966 and won in front of a sold-out Wembley Stadium against Germany’s old adversary. Football fairytales don’t get much better than this. Mead was a breakthrough star with the Lionesses. Her six goals and five assists propelled her to the Golden Boot, scoring half of England’s goals in the tournament and earning her the title of Player of the Tournament.
Also Read: Messi vows to keep playing for Argentina
She went on to win her 50th England cap in November and, at the age of 27, she is well on her way to a century ” Mead’s promise has now been realized because of the combined efforts of Jonas Eidevall and Sarina Wiegman’s management. Under the Dutch boss, she was directly involved in 37 goals in 23 games, and she has been as efficient for Arsenal. She has 10 goals and eight assists in WSL games in 2022, taking 61 shots and making 35 tackles, demonstrating how efficient she can be in various parts of her game.
Unfortunately, it will be some time before we see Mead light up the field again. An ACL injury suffered a few weeks ago has ruled her out for the rest of the season, making the World Cup next summer a real possibility. But there’s no disputing that the most recent accolade in her trophy cabinet is the ideal way to top off a phenomenal climb, and there’s little question that Mead will return even stronger in 2023.