Clare Balding has publicly criticised the 2011 Sports
Personality of the Year shortlist for not featuring any
women.
The annual ceremony celebrates the best participants in UK sport
over the past twelve months.
Sportsmen Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarke, Luke Donald, Mo Farah, Dai
Greene, Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Andy Murray, Amir Khan and
Mark Cavendish are all nominees on the current list.
The presenter, who has recently been given the all-clear from
thyroid cancer, said: "If you feel strongly about the all-male
SPOTY list, it might be worth making the point to the sports editor
of the paper you read, the radio station you listen to, the TV
stations you watch, that their coverage of female sport is very,
very limited in non-Olympic years.
"Otherwise, the world will stay exactly the same. If you want more
coverage of female sport, SAY SO. That way, those who care can turn
a rather desperate situation into something better in the long
term."
Swimming champion Rebecca Adlington missed out on a nomination
this year by just one point.
As a result, fellow television personality Gabby Logan also waded
into the debate.
She said on Twitter: "I can't think of anything to say about there
being NO women on SPOTY top ten list that is positive so I won't
say anything."
She continued: "World champion swimmer, world champion ironman
athlete, and track athletes who would all stake a claim. So we moan
about women having no positive role models but they are there in
sport - we need to promote them.'
She added later: "That's not 'positive discrimination' - they'd be
up there on merit. It's about the domination of male sport in the
media. We can have both. Chrissie Wellington, Keri-Anne Payne,
Rebecca Adlington - all gold medal winners in 2011."
Zara Phillips was the last woman to win the Sports Personality of
the Yearin 2006.
