This time last year Andy Murray was 1.65 favourite on Betfair. He’s even shorter today at 1.19 in his bid to become the first person to win SPOTY in consecutive years and three times in total.
After winning Wimbledon and Olympics gold in the summer and going odds-on, Murray’s price was drifting until he became world number one for the first time during the Paris Masters in November.
The end-of-year number one spot was still on the line though later in the month at the World Tour Finals. His convincing victory over his long-time rival and nemesis Novak Djokovic in the final meant Murray secured the top spot going into 2017. He’s had another phenomenal year with a 78-9 record for the season, winning nine tour titles. He ended it on a 24-match winning streak.
It’s been a pleasure to have followed the whole of Muzza’s career, seeing him fulfil his potential in a golden era despite many setbacks along the way. And now he appears comfortably to be Britain’s favourite sportsperson.
It’s been a spectacular year of British sporting success. The depth of achievement is perhaps best summed up by Jason Kenny – who won three gold medals at the Olympics, and joined Sir Chris Hoy as having the most golds in total of any Briton – being 710 for tonight on Betfair.
He had traded as low as 7.0 during that captivating night in the velodrome when he won the keirin for his third gold. It’s always interesting and often surprising to look back at some of the lowest prices – this year they include: Brownlee 3.05, Farah 3.05, Vardy 3.0, L Kenny 6.0, Willett 6.2, Whitlock 6.4, Skelton 8.6 and Peaty 10.0. That’s not to mention Anthony Joshua and Chris Froome who also traded low at times but didn’t even make the shortlist.
It’s been a classic year of SPOTY trading action and the main hope tonight for followers of the site is for a Murray-Brownlee-Skelton / Trott 1-2-3, along with a women’s hockey or combined Olympic and Paralympic team of the year award. There are quite a few dangers lurking and it’s never straightforward in this game so we shall see. For fun, my guess at the full 1-16 is:
- Murray
- Brownlee
- Skelton
- L Kenny
- Farah
- Whitlock
- Vardy
- Bale
- Richardson-Walsh
- J Kenny
- Christiansen
- Adams
- Peaty
- Storey
- Cox
- Willett
Best of luck to everyone tonight with their bets.
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