RTE HAVE announced their shortlist for Sportsperson of the Year for 2021. There is strong female representation on the list as six women make the eight strong list.
The nominated athletes include the likes of boxers Katie Taylor, Kellie Harrington, Limerick's Cian Lynch, Irish golfer Leona Maguire, the jockey Rachael Blackmore, and others like Ellen Keane, Jason Smyth, and Vikki Wall.
Six women feature on the eight-strong shortlist for the 2021 RTÉ Sportsperson of the Year award https://t.co/FazybGN2Cg #rtesport
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) December 10, 2021
The award will be announced live on RTÉ One on Saturday, 18 December.
Rachael Blackmore had an unbelievable year winning accolades at Aintree and Cheletnam in April. She became the first female winner of the Top Jockey award at the latter.
Harrington won gold for Ireland in the boxing lightweight category at the Tokyo Olympics.
Taylor floored Han in the eighth (Image: George Wood/Getty Images)Taylor is the current holder of the award and has managed to defend her titles, not once but twice this year. She overcome fellow rival Natasha Jones in Manchester in May and followed this with victory over Jennifer Han in Leeds in September, and is preparing to take on Firuza Sharipova in Liverpool on Saturday.
Keane's superb performance in the SB8 100m breaststroke final won her a first gold medal in her fourth Paralympic Games.
Smyth also took gold at the Paralympics, winning his sixth gold medal in a thrilling T13 100m final.
Cian Lynch was the lynch-pin in Limerick's dominant All-Ireland hurling final win as they beat Cork to retain Limerick's championship titles for the first time.
Maguire, the Cavan native climbed to 43 in the world rankings with a number of brilliant displays on the LPGA tour. She had started at 177 at the start of the year. Her efforts at the Solheim Cup for Team Europe was a highlight for the golfer. The 27-year-old managed to score 4.5 points out of five, a record for a rookie at the event. She also competed in the Tokyo Olympics
Meath footballer Wall also makes the cut following Meath’s shock All-Ireland win. The Dunboyne player was player of the match in the final win over Dublin, where Meath produced a stunning performance to win the county’s first ever senior All-Ireland title.
