The England footballer Jude Bellingham, the cricketer Joe Root and the Paralympian Sarah Storey complete the list. But, surprisingly, there is no place for Mark Cavendish, in a year when he broke Eddy Merckx's record for Tour de France stage wins.
Victory would make Littler, who turned 17 in January, the second-youngest winner behind the Scottish swimmer Ian Black in 1958. His nomination is reward for a remarkable 12 months, in which he went from an almost complete unknown to the final of the PDC World Darts Championship, aged 16, and won more than £1m in prize money.
This story is from the December 10, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the December 10, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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