William Ellard nominated for BBC's Young Sports Personality of the Year

Double Paralympic champion William Ellard has been rewarded for his remarkable 2024 by being shortlisted for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year.

The 18-year-old, who marked his Paralympic debut in Paris with two goals, a silver and a world record, is in illustrious company as he joins skateboarder Sky Brown and darts star Luke Littler on the shortlist.

The winner will be announced live on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year show on Tuesday 17th December.

Ellard said: “To be shortlisted for this award means a lot to me. Some of the greats – like Wayne Rooney, Ellie Simmonds, Phil Foden and Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix – have won in the past, so to be nominated this year is a special feeling”.

Ellard won Emerging Para-Swimmer of the Year at the recent Aquatics GB Awards 2024, recognising a season of repeated success that included a superb performance at April’s Speedo Aquatics GB Swimming Championships, four medals – including double gold – at the European Para-Swimming Championships in Madeira later that month.

He then enjoyed a breakthrough Games, which included a title and world record in the S14 200m Freestyle, plus a key part in the Mixed S14 4x100m Freestyle Relay triumph, a team made up entirely of Paralympic debutants.

The BBC initially listed 10 athletes, including Ellard’s Paralympic teammate Iona Winnifrith, who was ParalympicsGB’s youngest medallist in Paris, before whittling the list down to Ellard, Brown and Littler.