Olympic hero Nick Skelton shortlisted for Sports Personality of the Year Award, 16 years after horror fall - The Stratford Observer

Olympic hero Nick Skelton shortlisted for Sports Personality of the Year Award, 16 years after horror fall

Stratford Editorial 30th Nov, 2016   0

ALCESTER-based event rider Nick Skelton OBE has been shortlisted as one of the contenders for this years’ prestigious Sports Personality of the Year award.

The 58-year-old defied all odds against him to win Gold on Big Star in the Individual Showjumping event at this year’s Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro.

Incredibly, Skelton’s Gold medal triumph came 16 years after he initially retired when the Bedworth-born rider broke his neck in September 2000, more than 43 years after he first sat on a horse.

Two years after his fall, Skelton was back on a horse and was soon on the winners rostrum again – winning the British Open Title with Arko in 2004.




And the achievements continue flowing for Skelton as earlier this week he aims to become the first equestrian events rider to win since Welshman David Broome scooped the award in 1960.

Skelton will face tough competition in his attempt to win the award as tennis star Andy Murray, triathlete Alistair Brownlee, runner Mo Farah and Olympic hero Adam Peaty.


Since his return from Rio, his two sons – Daniel and Harry, who are both experiencing success of their own in the horse racing industry – have actively promoted #Skelfie, which encourages supporters to take a selfie and post it on social media.

This year’s Sports Personality of the Year event takes place at the Genting Arena in Birmingham on Sunday (December 18).

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