ENGLAND and Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps has been voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2023.
Earps was the standout player as the Lionesses’ reached their first World Cup final in the summer.
Former England cricketer Stuart Broad was second in the voting, and world heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson third.
Earps’ efforts during the World Cup were rewarded as she took home the Golden Glove award for the best goalkeeper at the tournament.
She played every minute of England’s seven World Cup matches, conceding only four goals as well as saving a penalty in the final, which England lost 1-0 against Spain.
As she collected the award, Earps said: “It feels pretty great off the back of a couple of really big years.
“2023 has been wild in ways I could not have expected.
“I’m really, really grateful”.
Away from the Lionesses, Earps plays her football for Manchester United and she follows fellow Lioness Beth Mead in being named BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Her time with the Red Devil’s has been extremely successful as she claimed the Women’s Super League Golden Glove for the 2022-2023 season, having kept a record 14 clean sheets.
The 30-year-old is the third female athlete to win the award in a row, with tennis star Emma Raducanu winning in 2021, and Mead in 2022.
“I would not be here without my team-mates and at Manchester United because we have achieved some incredible things over the last couple of years,” Earps continued
“While individual accolades are great, they only come after team success.
“This is their trophy just as much as mine.”
