TEN COMPELLING REASONS WHY TONY MCCOY DESERVES TO WIN BBC SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR 2010

On Sunday 19 December, sports fans vote for the outstanding sports person of 2010 at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards.

This year’s shortlist is extremely impressive but one candidate - jump jockey Tony (A P) McCoy - stands out for both his achievements and dedication to the sport.

Here are 10 compelling reasons why he deserves wider recognition for his amazing

talents:

1) McCoy has been the sport’s undisputed Champion Jockey for 15 consecutive

seasons, a record never achieved before and unlikely to ever be achieved again.

2) McCoy has won more than 3,300 races making him the winning most Jump Jockey

of all time and 1,000 winners clear of his nearest rival.

3) He has broken almost every bone in his body in his quest for winners,

including his middle and lower vertebrae, both shoulder blades, both

collarbones, ribs, ankle, cheekbones, wrist, leg and teeth.

4) A P rides at a stone and a half under his natural body weight. This enables

him to ride more horses and improves his chance of winners.

5) He goes to bed hungry three nights a week in order to maintain his riding

weight of 10 stone 10lbs.

6) He has ridden in more than 13,000 races (the equivalent of 31,000 miles or

1.25 times around the earth).

7) McCoy has fallen over 680 times in races, often at speeds of up to 30 mph.

8) A P has spent over 1.3 years of his life purposefully sweating in order to

lose weight. That’s the equivalent of 2 - 2.5 hours, six days a week in the bath

or sauna.

9) He clocks up over 75,000 miles a year driving to racecourses across the

country and, unless he has suffered a heavy fall, rarely takes a day off.

10) McCoy has won almost every major race in the jump racing calendar,

including this year’s John Smith’s Grand National on Don’t Push It.