Sparky
takes top honour in public vote
Wales
football manager Mark Hughes has been voted BBC Wales Sports Personality
of the Year 2002 by the viewing public.
Mark
'Sparky' Hughes joins fellow football greats Ian Rush, Ryan Giggs
and John Toshack in the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year
list of winners, after a year which included a sweep of victories
and a record rise of 48 places in FIFA's world rankings for the
national side.
BBC
ONE Wales' viewers watched Mark Hughes raise the trophy, presented
by Manic Street Preachers guitarist Nicky Wire, in the BBC Wales
Sports Personality of the Year programme, screened from the glittering
ceremony at St David's Hall in Cardiff.
The
Manic Street Preachers brought their own brand of luck to the national
side when they warmed up the home crowd before October's momentous
Wales v Italy match at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.
For
the first time in its 47 year history, the award was decided by
a viewers' vote, rather than the traditional panel of judges.
Second
place went to cyclist Nicole Cooke from Wick in the Vale of Glamorgan,
who took Commonwealth gold at the Manchester Games.
Pontypridd
golfer Phillip Price took third place at the Awards for the second
year running, after pulling off a shock win over American world
number two Phil Mickelson in a Ryder Cup final day nail-biter.
This
year's team award was won by the Wales football team, whose record
of international wins under Hughes in 2002 put them on top of their
European Championship qualifying group by the end of last year.
The
Carwyn James Junior Award - now in its 20th year - went to 14-year-old
yachtswoman Hannah Mills from Dinas Powys and golfer Rhys Davies,
19, from Bridgend.
The
2002 Merit Award went to former Glamorgan and England cricketer
Steve Watkin.
All the
BBC's digital services are now available on Freeview,
the new free-to-view digital terrestrial television service, as well
as on satellite and cable.
Freeview
offers the BBC's eight television channels, as well as six BBC radio
networks.
The
soon to launch BBC THREE will become available as it goes on air.
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