ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID

03-12-2007

No, you haven’t been smoking a herbal cigarette....Christine Ohurugu really has been nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year despite being suspended for missing three drugs tests. And, as Richard Nevin observes, she’ll be lining up among the familiar collection of losers.

Ex-England and Aston Villa manager Graham Taylor once remarked “Finishing second is nothing to celebrate”, wise words maybe but a theory not shared by Birmingham City on finishing runners up to Sunderland in the Championship last May, or indeed the BBC, it would appear, following the announcement of the nominees for this years “Sports Personality of the Year”.

If you take a close look at the list it may go some way to explaining why the British tend to be perennial underachievers in the sporting arena.

Among those selected to make the final ten, chosen by a mysterious unnamed panel of sporting experts, are four sportsmen who have achieved excellence at the peak of their profession, three hold world titles and one a European honour.

However, also included, are, amongst others, two rugby players who were part of team that came up short in the Rugby World Cup, a track athlete with an habitual absent mind when it comes to drug-tests and a professional racing driver who took a wrong turn at the crucial moment.

There’s even a Tennis player whose only achievement in the last twelve months is displaying a permanent scowl on his face when in front of the camera.

Now don’t get me wrong here, I admire all those mentioned above, after all this is being written by a man who greeted PE lessons at school like Harry Redknap greets an early morning police visit to his house, but surely there has to be a minimum entry level of success before consideration for this honour?

Should the racing driver with a poor sense of direction, and current favourite, win the trophy, what does this tell our up and coming sports stars? That blowing a chance at wining a world title is more of an achievement than actually winning one?

While we continue to reward and recognise under-achievement and gallant failure, we are sending out the wrong message to our youngsters and can only expect similar, “nearly but not quite”, results in the future.

We should reward those who have, not those who might or those who didn’t.

(To see the full line-up, click here http://tinyurl.com/2cx65s)

Should Christine Ohurugu have been short-listed?

And who will win?

Leave a comment on the Message Board.