Bradley Wiggins capped his remarkable sporting year by winning the 2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award on Sunday night. As Wiggins received his latest trophy from the Duchess of Cambridge, he did so not only as the Tour de France champion and Olympic time trial gold medallist, but also as a symbol of Britain's sporting annus mirabilis.
In Britain's greatest year, Wiggins won support of the public with his self-effacing charisma as well as his phenomenal achievements.
Described at various stages throughout 2012 as le gentleman, the modfather and the banana with sideburns, the epithets he received were bestowed upon an idiosyncratic yet very ordinary man who has achieved extraordinary things.
"It's something to remember for the rest of my life," he said. "To receive it from David Beckham and the Royal Highness is quite something really. It's never going to get any better, let's face it," Wiggins said.
"Winning this, winning gold in the London Olympics, it's about as good as it's ever going to get. I'll just cherish this moment forever. I can die happily now."
Wiggins revealed that the sports personality trophy would eventually find a home at his local pub in Eccleston, Lancashire. He was anointed as the 59th winner of the award ahead of the runner-up, heptathlete Jessica Ennis, and tennis star Andy Murray, who took third place.
Wiggins became the first Briton to win the Tour following three-and-a-half gruelling weeks in France. Just days after riding to victory up the Champs-Elysées, he was pedalling through London to claim gold for Great Britain on the road.
The 32-year-old received 30.25% of the votes, 492,064 in total, while Ennis earned 22.92% and Murray 14.17%. Athlete Mo Farah was fourth with 8.07%, followed by Paralympians David Weir and Ellie Simmonds. A total of 1,626,718 votes were cast.
Wiggins is the first English winner of the award for six years and follows Tom Simpson, Sir Chris Hoy and Mark Cavendish as cyclists to have secured the accolade. It was fitting that Wiggins won the award the year after Mark Cavendish, who worked so selflessly during the summer to ensure his team-mate and close friend came away with the yellow jersey in Paris.
Such was Britain's embarrassment of riches that Farah did not even make the podium despite his stunning performances in the Olympic 10,000m and 5,000m in a memorable summer.
In any other year, Ennis could have taken first prize. Under extraordinary pressure to win the heptathlon in the face of severe competition from her rival Tatyana Chernova, Britain's poster girl delivered in breathtaking style with personal bests in the 100m hurdles and javelin before a stunning 800m victory.
In 1997, Greg Rusedski won Sports Personality after reaching the US Open final. Murray won that competition on top of his Olympic singles gold this year yet third place was his reward.
Lord Coe was presented with a lifetime achievement award for his role in bringing the Olympics and Paralympics to London, his part in the successful staging of London 2012 and for his career as a middle-distance runner.
He said: "It has been a privilege to have been part of this journey. I don't think we'll ever say goodbye to 2012. I don't think we'll ever forget this – that spirit will never disappear. I do think that Olympic sport now has a much firmer handhold on public consciousness and political support than it has ever had. It's a great legacy to build on. Now the hard work begins – this is the most exciting part of the story going forward."
The ceremony was dominated by the endeavours of the Olympians and Paralympians who contributed to Britain's most successful Games.
The presenters – Gary Lineker, Sue Barker and Clare Balding – gave out eight awards on a night when memories of the 65 Olympic and 120 Paralympic medals were emotionally remembered inside the ExCel centre, one of the London 2012 venues.
Team GB and Paralympics GB won the accolade of team of the year in a surprise move by the 12-person judging panel, which decided to overrule the BBC's terms stating the award would be "for the team in an individual sport or sporting discipline that has achieved the most notable performance". However, the BBC's guidelines did stipulate that the criteria could be amended "should there be unanimous agreement amongst panel members". There was, and their decision meant Europe's remarkable golfing comeback at Medinah Country Club in the Ryder Cup was beaten.
Dave Brailsford, the performance director of British Cycling and the Team Sky principal, was named coach of the year after Team GB's 12 Olympic cycling medals and Britain's most successful Tour de France. "My job is to look after other people but we are only ever going to be as good as our riders. It is about the athletes, it is about the riders," Brailsford said.
The young sports personality of the year went to the Paralympic swimmer Josef Craig and the overseas personality prize was awarded to the Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt.
Footballer Fabrice Muamba, who suffered a cardiac arrest while playing for Bolton Wanderers against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup, presented the unsung hero award to husband and wife team Sue and Jim Houghton for their work at a community sport centre in Desford, Leicestershire.
The Paralympic sitting volleyball gold medallist Martine Wright took the Helen Rollason award for outstanding achievement in the face of adversity after losing her legs in the London 7/7 bombings.
How Britain voted
Bradley Wiggins: 492,064
Jessica Ennis: 372,765
Andy Murray: 230,444
Mo Farah: 131,327
David Weir: 114,633
Ellie Simmonds: 102,894
Chris Hoy: 42,961
Nicola Adams: 35,560
Ben Ainslie: 35,373
Rory McIlroy: 29,729
Katherine Grainger: 28,626
Sarah Storey: 10,343
Total votes: 1,626,718
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