Dina Asher-Smith and Katarina Johnson-Thompson have been shortlisted for the 2019 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award ahead of the awards ceremony on the 15 December, and we couldn’t be more excited.

The pair of gold medal-winning athletes were nominated alongside F1 star Lewis Hamilton, Manchester City football player Raheem Stirling, England cricket player Ben Stokes and the captain of Wales’ Six Nations-winning team, Alun Wyn Jones.

This is the first time Johnson-Thompson has been shortlisted for the award (although she has won the title of 2019 Sports Star of the Year at Stylist’s Remarkable Women Awards); last year, Asher-Smith made the prestigious shortlist only to place fourth behind Geraint Thomas, Lewis Hamilton and Harry Kane.

Both sports stars have had a pretty incredible year – so it’s no surprise to see them recognised in this way. 

At this year’s Athletics World Championships in Doha, Asher-Smith became the first British woman in history to win a global gold medal in a sprint event. Alongside completing 200m in 21.88 seconds (a national record, by the way), Asher-Smith ran her way into two silver medals in both the 100m and 4x100m relay. She also won the overall title for the 100m in the Diamond League for the first time – incredible. 

Johnson-Thompson also saw considerable success at the Doha World Championships, claiming a gold medal for her heptathlon performance. Alongside the fact that this was the first global outdoor gold she has won, Johnson-Thompson also achieved four personal bests and managed to beat her closest opponent Nafi Thiam by an impressive 304 points – an achievement which saw her break Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill’s British record.

All that’s left to do now is wait for the ceremony on the 15 December with baited breath. 

Image: Getty