Its the message it sends out. Yes Hamilton’s victory is amazing, and his rise to stardom from where he comes from is unbeliveable. BUT; how many people really can hopefully aspire to that? Well firstly half the population can’t; haven’t seen women do it. Stuff like swimming, cycling, athletics (Christine Ohuruogu is one of the nominees) are stuff we can all do. F1 remains and will always be by its nature an elitist sport (nothing wrong with that), the others are things that five years old can take up and be inspired by. This is what the Olympics are about. Its about those people who have watched Boardman in Barcelona and now are rising to the top. People who watched Sally Gunnell and are now rising to the top. But its not just that its about people actually swimming or running or cycling just for fun. Coe has talked about a ‘legacy’; what is the legacy we want to leave?
We have a massive problem with sport and getting children to do it; particularly amongst girls, we need positive messages, not the same ones. I think Hamilton is deserving of it, and in any normal year he would be a clear winner. This year is different; people like Hoy or Addlington offer the real hope for young.