Sports Personality favourites

It's a funny old world. A year ago, British sprinter Christine Ohuruogu was an athletics outcast. Now, she's third favourite to be BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Bookmakers rate Lewis Hamilton odds-on favourite for the trophy on 9 December after a dazzling rookie Formula One season.

But Ohuruogu has moved into the frame after winning the world 400m in her first competition since being suspended for missing three drugs tests in 18 months.

Meanwhile, boxer Ricky Hatton's 'super fight' in Las Vegas will take place just hours before the Sports Personality show, and there's even talk of a certain Tim Henman being an unlikely outsider. Come on Tim!

Here, we look at the current favourites. These are only the bookies' odds at this stage - the public vote takes place in December...

AWARD FAVOURITES (Contender, odds*, age, nationality, sport)

LEWIS HAMILTON 1-6 (22, English, Motorsport)
Everything seems to come easy for the F1 ace. Hamilton Academical, you might say.

Never mind. He's British, very good, and steered his way round a spying row and team turmoil. And can you ever tire (tyre?) of seeing him as a cheeky karting schoolboy...?

He's grown up since then - Hamilton allegedly had a radio bust-up with McLaren officials, though his team denied he used the 'F' word. I take it they meant Ferrari?

Coming up: 9 Sep, Italian GP, Monza.

RICKY HATTON 8-1 (29, English, Boxing)
Timing is crucial for the Manchester 'Hitman'. And his super fight against Floyd Mayweather could not have been scheduled better.

Hours before the coveted BBC award is dished out, Hatton will be in action at the MGM in Las Vegas.

On a bill headlined 'Undefeated', one man will lose for the first time. Hatton is unbeaten in 42, with Mayweather on a 39-bout winning streak.

The fight is on the night of Saturday 8 December - the early hours of Sunday, Greenwich Meantime, as the BBC awards countdown gets under way

Coming up: 8 Dec v Floyd Mayweather, IBO Light Welterweight, Las Vegas

CHRISTINE OHURUOGU 10-1 (23, English, Athletics)
Are you celebrating a remarkable sporting success or questioning whether she should be allowed to run?

It was only on 11 August that Ohuruogu competed for the first time in more than a year. She has since shaved half a second off her personal best and led a world championship 1-2 for Britain with Nicola Sanders.

Ohuruogu says she missed three out-of-competition drugs tests through a mixture of forgetfulness and circumstance.She was given a lifetime Olympics ban by the British Olympic Association.

After her gold run, bookmakers William Hill offered odds of 20-1 that she could overturn the ban and compete at Beijing in 2008. They were flooded with takers, slashing the odds to even money.

A surge in blog postings shows how her star has risen - posts that contain Christine Ohuruogu per day for the last 30 days.

Get your own chart!

Coming up: 1230 BST, Sun 2 Sep, Women's 4x400m relay final, World Athletics Championship, Japan

FRANKIE DETTORI 14-1 (36, Italian, Horse racing)
Born in Italy, he qualifies for potential nomination by being a British citizen who works most of the time in the country.

He finally won the Epsom Derby, the world's most famous Flat race, at the 15th attempt with a thrilling victory on Authorized in June.

Dettori was front page news the following day, and the day after when he completed a Derby double in 24 hours by claiming the French version with Lawman.

Britain's best-selling daily newspaper, The Sun, called for him to be knighted.

He cleaned out the bookies in 1996 by riding all seven winners on the card at Ascot. It was so rare the BBC even suspended football's Final Score.

And three years later, he bounced back from an horrific plane crash, which claimed the life of the pilot.

Coming up: 7 Oct, Authorized due to run in Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Longchamp.

ANDY MURRAY 16-1 (20, Scottish, Tennis)
No. it's not a spelling mistake. That does say Andy and not Jamie Murray.

Jamie was the first Brit to win a senior title at Wimbledon for 20 years - the mixed doubles with Jelena Jankovic.

They followed Jeremy Bates and Jo Durie, doubles champions in 1987.

Andy is seeded 19th for the US Open as he bids to revive an injury-plagued season.

He's through to the third round after beating Swedish veteran Jonas Bjorkman in five sets.

Coming up: US Open third round v Korean Hyung-Taik Lee of South Korea, Saturday 1 September.

DAVID BECKHAM 25-1 (32, English, Football)
The Beckham soap opera rolls on - he's out with a sprained knee for four to six weeks, which will do his Air Miles no good.

That rules the LA Galaxy star out of England's Euro 2008 home qualifiers against Israel and Russia in September.

He will also miss club dates with Real Salt Lake and Columbus Crew. For the uninitiated, they are not themed gangsta rap clubbing nights, but Major League Soccer clubs in the United States.

Becks, who has made 94 international appearances, could be back for his country's final three qualifiers as he seeks six caps to join England's 100-club.

Coming up: 13 Oct, England v Estonia, Euro 2008 qualifier

JOE CALZAGHE 33-1 (35, Welsh, Boxing)
While there's few good heavyweights, British boxing has enjoyed good times in recent years from lighter fighters such as Calzaghe, Hatton and Amir Khan.

Calzaghe, unbeaten in 43 fights, is the world's longest reigning boxing champion, with 21 defences of the WBO crown over 10 years.

Next up is WBC and WBA champion Kessler, the great Dane who's unbeaten in 39 outings and is seven years younger than the Welshman.

The super middleweight unification bout could see a world indoor record crowd of 70,000 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Did you know? Although a resident of Wales since the age of two, Calzaghe was born at Hammersmith Hospital, west London.

Coming up: Mikkel Kessler, Cardiff, 3 November

JUSTIN ROSE 50-1 (27, English, Golf)
One of only seven golfers to make the cut in all four Majors in 2007.

Fellow Brits Paul Casey, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood were among the others, along with some bloke called T Woods, his compatriot Scott Verplank and Swede Niclas Fasth.

Rose, fifth at the Masters, 10th at the US Open and 12th at the Open this year, has bloomed since returning from a troublesome back injury.

He could be the man to break Britain's Major drought in 2008 - Scot Paul Lawrie was the last Brit to oblige when claiming the 1999 Open at Carnoustie.

Coming up: 14 Oct, World Matchplay Championship, Wentworth

JONNY WILKINSON 50-1 (28, English, Rugby Union)
"He kicks for World Cup glory"...Who could forget that moment when Wilkinson sealed England's Rugby World Cup triumph in 2003?

It all went a bit pear-shaped with the old oval ball after then.

Head, shoulders, knees and toes - Wilko was injured all over the place and left to kick his heels on the sidelines for more than three years, missing 30 Tests.

He came back in the Six Nations with a Calcutta Cup record 27 points against Scotland.

Now his fitness is vital as the reigning champions start the Rugby World Cup as sixth favourites - behind New Zealand, South Africa, France, Australia and Ireland.

Coming up: 7 Sep-26 Oct, Rugby World Cup

JOHN TERRY 66-1 (26, English, Football)
Terry appeared in a recent edition of the Beano comic. That's in the Beano, not on a Beano.

His England captaincy will be tested as the hit-and-miss national side try to qualify for the Euro 2008 finals, which are being jointly hosted by those European football giants, Austria and Switzerland.

Terry is off Premiership former referee Graham Poll's Christmas card list as the ex-ref reckons he does not show enough authority to officials.

A top footballer not getting a card from Poll. Remarkable

Did you know? Chelsea skipper Terry hails from Barking and played schoolboy football for London rivals West Ham.

Coming up: 9 Sep, England v Israel, Euro 2008 qualifier

DARK HORSES

He boasts a 55 per cent strike rate in international football. That's 31 goals in 57 matches.

The man is Northern Ireland's David Healy . He's netted 11 goals in Euro 2008 qualifying, while the entire England team has only scored 12.

Healy barely makes the Sports Personality betting, like another unsung hero - the 150-1 chance Tim Henman. Come on Tim!

The retiring four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist turned back the clock to beat bogeyman Dmitry Tursunov in the US Open first round

Henman made the last four in New York three years ago. He couldn't do the same again, could he?

He plays unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in round two, before a potential date with world number two Rafael Nadal, who is struggling with a knee injury.

After his American adventure, Tiger Tim will bid an emotional farewell before millions of BBC TV viewers at Britain's Davis Cup tie against Croatia at Wimbledon on 21-23 September.

WHAT YOU ARE SAYING

"Lets hope Hatton beats Mayweather and Hamilton wins the championship. It could well be the closest race ever then." (Richard Harrison)

"Jamie Murray for Sports Personality, surely - Or at least Jamie and Jelena for Team of the Year." (Paul Bater)

"How about Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti - a Scot in a normally American-led event." (Alan Morgan)

"Gareth Thomas will be favourite when he lifts the Rugby World Cup for Wales in October."

"Speedway - Chris Harris deserves some sort of recognition, especially winning in spectacular style at the GP in Cardiff." (From Beakjo)

"Pentathlete Heather Fell took silver in the individual event at the European Championships This was some feat after all her funding was removed." (Megahammers)

Discover the most popular stars with online trading game Sportdaq.

Source: BBC Sport