The 44-year-old snooker legend received almost half (44%) of the total votes cast, shared between eight of the best of British sport.
2020 was the year when O’Sullivan finally ended his wait of seven years for another World Championship, beating Ding Junhui, Mark Williams, Mark Selby and Kyren Wilson along the way.
In second place was Marcus Rashford (15%), who earned his recognition for his activity off the pitch as much as his deeds on it. Rashford was at the heart of a campaign to secure vulnerable British children free school meals over the course of the coronavirus pandemic, in the face of sustained opposition from the British government.
Rashford also has 21 goals in the 2020 calendar year and is on course to beat his 22-goal record if he continues his current scoring rate for the 2020/21 season. He also has received an MBE for his services to children, aged just 23.
In third (12%), Lewis Hamilton won his fourth consecutive drivers’ championship – his seventh so far – and broke Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 Grand Prix victories. Away from the track, he donated to help fight back against the damage done by wildfires in Australia, and spearheaded the Black Lives Matter movement amongst the Formula One paddock.
Jonathan Rea placed fourth (9%) after another dominant season in the World Superbike championship. The Northern Ireland racer was on every podium but one after the coronavirus-enforced restart, and won his sixth straight world championship.
In joint fourth (also 9%) was Judd Trump. While O’Sullivan won the Worlds, Trump pulled off victories in the Northern Ireland Open, the English Open, the Gibraltar Open, Players Championship and German Masters. At just 31 there is almost certainly much more to come.
Sixth place went to football Lucy Bronze (5%), who enjoyed another superb season. The 29-year-old England international won the Champions League and French domestic double with Lyon, and then moved back to the Women’s Super League to join Manchester City in September.
Tao Geoghegan Hart (3%) capped a fine year off with his seventh place recognition. After Geraint Thomas had to withdraw from Team Ineos’ Giro d’Italia challenge, it was the 25-year-old rider who stepped up to shock almost everyone to seize victory. In what may be a less frenetic season in 2021, there is no clear limit to his potential.
Fellow cyclist Lizzie Deignan also impressed, and earned an eight place spot (2%) after topping the UCI World Rankings, in part due to victories at La Course and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
RESULTS
Ronnie O’Sullivan – 44%
Marcus Rashford – 15%
Lewis Hamilton – 12%
Jonathan Rea – 9%
Judd Trump – 9%
Lucy Bronze – 5%
Tao Geoghegan Hart – 3%
Lizzie Deignan – 2%
