Emma Raducanu reacts to Keely Hodgkinson becoming 4th consecutive woman to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year, a run spearheaded by herself

Emma Raducanu celebrated Keely Hodkinson becoming the fourth-consecutive female athlete to win BBC's Sports Personality of the Year, which has happened for the first time in the award's illustrious history. Raducanu was the first of these four women to win this award, in this new era of female British athletes.

Raducanu rose to fame when she defeated Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 to win the 2021 US Open. This unexpected triumph had added significance as she was the first qualifier to win a Major. The magnitude of Raducanu's achievement helped her defeat Tom Daley, Adam Peaty, and others to win the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year that year.

Since then, women have dominated the coveted award with soccer stars Beth Mead and Mary Earps winning it in the following years. This trend continued this year, with 800m runner Keely Hodgkinson defeating Luke Littler, Joe Root, and others, to win the award. Hodgkinson won gold at the Paris Olympics this year.

Emma Raducanu took to Instagram to celebrate the BBC Sports Personality of the Year's four consecutive female winners, which happened for the first time in its history. She reshared BBC's post announcing the winner on her story and added four fairy emojis.

Via Raducanu's INSTAGRAM

The last male winner of the award was Lewis Hamilton in 2020, the year he clinched his seventh F1 world championship. The most successful winner in the award's history is Andy Murray, who won the title thrice.

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"It’s just not sustainable" - Emma Raducanu on why winning the US Open at a young age was a double-edged sword

Emma Raducanu - Source: Getty

Emma Raducanu was only 18 when she conquered the US Open. She recently opened up about how winning a Major, which was her primary goal in tennis, early on in her career ended up being a double-edged sword. Since her win, the Brit has struggled to remain in the upper echelons of the game. Speaking at the LTA National Tennis Center recently, Raducanu said,

“Initially when I first started, before I won the US Open, my main reason was: ‘I want to win a grand slam’. And that happened so young. I’m so grateful for it. But as soon as that happens, I’m like, ‘OK, well what now? I want to win another grand slam’. It’s just not sustainable,” she said.

The 22-year-old also spoke about how not winning a Grand Slam immediately after her triumph in New York frustrated her. She added that now her focus is on becoming the best version of herself and seeing how far she can go.

Emma Raducanu is slated to play at the 2025 ASB Classic next.