"As a little girl, I dared to dream big," said the 22-year-old from Atherton, near Manchester, after being rewarded for a remarkable year in which she won Olympic and European gold, obliterated her own British record, and remained unbeaten over two laps.
The 17-year-old darts prodigy Luke Littler came second after a breakthrough 2024 which included reaching the world darts championship, while the England cricketer Joe Root came third.
But this was Hodgkinson's night as she became the fourth woman in a row to win the award, following Emma Raducanu in 2021, Beth Mead in 2022 and Mary Earps last year.
Victory was achieved in classic Hodgkinson style.
As at the Paris Games, she was a huge favourite beforehand. And, once again emerged from a stacked field to justify her odds.
"I am actually a bit in shock," she admitted, as cries of 'Keely! Keely!' rang out across the audience at Media City in Salford. "This year has been absolutely incredible for me. I've achieved everything I set out to do."
Earlier, her father, Dean, had told the story about how as a young girl Hodgkinson had entered a cross country race and not only won it but lapped everyone. "I always knew I had a bit of a talent," said Hodgkinson. "I get the best out of myself. I took great inspiration from Jess Ennis at London 2012 and I started to dream."
Those dreams quickly became reality but after three silver medals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 2022 and 2023 World Championships, she had told everybody "that's not happening again".
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