A Facebook page has just been launched to promote the case for Jenny Jones as the BBC’s next ‘Sports Personality of the Year’. As soon as we saw it we had one thought: “Hell yeah!!”
Thanks to a national obsession with Olympic golds, snowboarding is largely ignored by the mainstream media in favour of some pretty random sports (skeleton anyone?). We therefore believe it’s high time Jenny got some recognition for being the most successful British snowboarder of all time – and arguably, the most successful British wintersports athlete of all time. Three X-Games gold medals on the trot, against the world’s best riders, is proof of a rare talent indeed. But for slopestyle’s mystifying exclusion from the Olympics there’s a fair chance she’d have a gold from Turin or Vancouver stashed in her knicker drawer too.
And when it comes to personality, is there even any argument? I mean, previous winners of the BBC award have included such conversation specialists as Ryan Giggs, Michael Owen and Jonny Wilkinson. Jenny has more personality in her little toe than those three put together!
And heck, if the royal showjumper Zara Phillips could win the award in 2006 for riding a horse, surely our own Bristol princess can cause an upset? Let’s not give it to another boring footballer who gets paid an obscene amount of money to roll around in agony whenever his shirt’s pulled. Let’s give it to a genuine, brave sportswoman of whom we can all be proud.
Join the group here:
