Even now with the Olympics at the height of it's popularity I reckon Littler would push Keely in identifying the two of them by showing their picture to the average joe on the street.

And from here on in the Olympics will fade somewhat whilst Littler will be continually popping up.

Team GB's excellent showing at the Paris Olympics has understandably had a big bearing on the betting for this year's BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, with athletics star Keely Hodgkinson now odds-on for SPOTY success.

The golden girl of British athletics was 4-1 before the Games but is now 8-15 to emulate her hero Kelly Holmes by winning the public vote in December.

There might be four months until December's ceremony in Salford but having been 14-1 as recently as July, the 800m heroine's progress is tough to oppose.

Others can still close on her, perhaps most notably Formula 1 driver Lando Norris. The McLaren man is second in the F1 drivers' championship with ten races to go and only 3-1 to end Max Verstappen's dominance of the sport.

Recency bias often influences the SPOTY voting. The F1 season finishes the weekend before the award is handed out and its terrestrial coverage means it has a ready-made following.

Sentiment may also benefit someone like legendary England cricketer James Anderson. Anderson retired as the third-highest Test Match wicket-taker of all time last month, and after Stuart Broad's second last year, the popular Lancastrian could be a value option at 66-1.

Keely Hodgkinson - 8-15
The 22-year-old shared favouritism with Luke Littler prior to the Olympics but she is now clear at the top of the market following her brilliant showing in Paris.

Not only did Hodgkinson win 800m gold, she did so in style, dominating the final by running away from her rivals in a manner that will have appealed to even casual fans of athletics.

Luke Littler - 13-2
Littler looked destined for SPOTY success during the first half of the year when he backed up his heroics in reaching the final on his Ally Pally debut with several titles on the PDC circuit, including the prestigious Premier League.

The teenager's popularity was helped by his meteoric rise being covered by major news outlets but the lack of terrestrial darts coverage undoubtedly impacts his chances of winning the BBC award, as does the fact that this year's World Championship begins on the same night as this year's Sports Personality ceremony.

Mark Cavendish - 14-1
Cavendish was as short as 5-2 after claiming his record-breaking 35th Tour de France stage win in July, delighting the nation by coming back from crashing out last year.

The sprinter won the sports personality award in 2011 and his honesty means he remains popular with the public.

Emma Finucane - 20-1
Olympic track cyclist Finucane rode her way into the wider public's consciousness with and excellent debut Games in Paris, winning gold in the team sprint and bronze medals in the keirin and individual sprint event.

That second bronze could help her hopes as it meant Team GB matched their haul from three years ago, before weightlifter Emily Campbell took them beyond their Tokyo tally, ensuring Finucane will feature in several video montages.

Lando Norris - 66-1
Norris is currently a 66-1 chance but there is greater scope for his price to contract compared to some other names on the list with so much of the F1 season remaining.

Petrolheads love to get behind their stars - an F1 driver has won the award on eight occasions since its inception with Lewis Hamilton the sport's last recipient in 2020, his second SPOTY success.

The 24-year-old will almost certainly be a shorter price if he overhauls Verstappen and claims a maiden drivers title and he would be a live candidate in any market without Hodgkinson.

No time for losers is it

Max red

NFC him

I'd hope it was the turn of another para

Weir, alfie, we need someone less grumpy. A new para star hopefully

tani grey was always a happy sought

not a train fan is she

Grey-Thompson, who last month tweeted that she could not book a wheelchair space in first class, external, asked if the award was for "proximity to a cafe bar".

Tbh, the only high profile gold :(

Finucane fail

Only me and you left to witness it stu, army has slumped behind the bar into a pile of sweaty lycra, the rest of the public switched off during the weird french jangle rockers

He will win spoty when he wins the title, tbf.

Certainly isn't this year though, the f1 odds are pretty crazy. Making no progress on verstappen at all

Snowflake imo

the big names were so poor and the other golds are nobody's, keely will get the sink and emma will probably get a decent VT
keely will stay on odds and emma will end up single figs is my prediction
who wins ive no idea, keely no shergar

https://community.betfair.com/general_betting/go/thread/view/94082/31850619/olympics-medalsspecials-most-gold-medals#flvWelcomeHeader

Good old bf cockup on the medals market. Looks like ambiguous rules to begin with

No doubt Ibas will be sharpening their pencils to write 'we agree with BFs decision, the punters should have guessed what they meant'

p1ssing myself silly at the pidock backers if they think more women are voting for him over Emma in todays political landscape. tbh mountain biking is so niche as well. The velodrome is on another level compared to that, with the greatest Olympians ever the kenny's making sure its one of the highest profile sports in this country.

Pidcock is a pure lycra freak vote tbf. He is popular in that community, but 30k votes max for me

Could give gblympics team of year, been done before.