THE BBC Sports Personality of the Year award is a prestigious honour - but it has not always gone to deserving winners.

The roll of honour features truly great sportsmen and women whose achievements in a particular year were outstanding.

It also includes names which were - to be blunt - scraping the bottom of the barrel: Damon Hill won in 1994 for coming second in the Formula One drivers' championship to Michael Schumacher; Greg Rusedski won in 1997 for getting beaten in the final of the US Open; and Michael Owen and David Beckham won in 1998 and 2001 respectively for scoring very good goals which didn't actually win us anything.

This year is different. The nation is spoilt for choice. The award will surely be won by golden girl Kelly Holmes for her wonderful double at the Athens Olympics.

In most other years, Matthew Pinsent, who has recently announced his retirement after winning his fourth successive Olympic rowing gold, would have been an exceptional winner.

And the North-East's own Tanni Grey-Thompson - Britain's most successful ever paralympian with 11 gold medals - would also have been a worthy recipient.

There can only be one winner and Kelly is a racing certainty. But let us celebrate the year of three exceptional British athletes.