The world 1500m champion is on the short list of contenders for the prestigious annual awards ceremony, which will take place on Wednesday. Wightman flies the flag for athletics, with Eilish McColgan missing out despite a stellar year of her own, but the odds-on favourite is England footballer Beth Mead after winning the Golden Boot and player of the tournament awards as the Lionesses won Euro 2022. She is joined on the shortlist by Wightman, England cricket captain Ben Stokes, snooker star Ronnie O'Sullivan, gymnast Jessica Gadirova and curler Eve Muirhead.
Wightman is in with a chance of a podium place at least after a brilliant year. He became the first British man to win the world 1,500m title since Steve Cram in 1983 by beating Norwegian favourite Jakob Ingebrigtsen to take a remarkable gold in Eugene. It was made all the more special by father Geoff commentating on the final as the stadium announcer.
“It’s that moment you cross the line, it’s just such euphoria, I just wish you could bottle that up because it soon fades away a little bit,” Wightman told BBC Sport. “The disbelief and the shock are something that I will never have again.”
The 28-year-old former Stewart's Melville and Fettes College pupil also won 800m silver at the European Championships and 1500m bronze at the Commonwealth Games.
Other awards to be announced include Young Sports Personality of the Year, Team and Coach of the Year, Unsung Hero and the Helen Rollason Award. Usain Bolt will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award, while football World Cup winner Lionel Messi is the World Sport Star of the Year.
When is BBC SPOTY 2022?
The programme is set to take place tomorrow evening, Wednesday 21 December, with a start time of 6.45pm GMT, live from Salford.
The awards will be available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer and will see Gabby Logan and Gary Lineker return to their presenting roles along with Clare Balding and Alex Scott.
Viewers can vote by phone or online on the night for the main award, with full details announced during the show. The winner will be announced during the live show on BBC One on Wednesday.
What is the prize for BBC SPOTY?
The winner will take home the highly coveted trophy, an iconic prize which is a silver four-turret lents camera. It was first created in the 1950s for the inaugural winner of the event, Christopher Chataway.
The programme was first created by Paul Fox in 1954 while he was editor of the sports magazine show SportsView.
Approximately 14,500 votes were cast and Chataway beat fellow athlete Roger Bannister to win the first BBC Sportsview’s Personality of the Year Award.
There is no prize money awarded for the winner of the trophy. Each new winner has their name engraved on individual shields attached to a plinth underneath the camera on the trophy and the original trophy is still used for the ceremony.
Who was on the judging panel?
The industry panel for this year included former Olympian Denise Lewis and Paralympian Kelly Gallagher as well as ex-snooker player Stephen Hendry.
Sports journalists Nancy Gillen (GiveMeSport), Jack Fox (Metro) and Tumaini Carayol (The Guardian) were also on the 2022 panel, in addition to Sue Butler (head of sports, S4C) and Sally Munday (CEO, UK Sport).
Representing the BBC were director of sport Barbara Slater, head of TV sport Philip Bernie and Sports Personality of the Year executive producer Gabby Cook.
The 2022 shortlist ...
. Jake Wightman
The Edinburgh runner produced a stunning run to take 1500m gold at the World Championships in Oregon. The Scot, 28, was the first British man to win the world title in the event since Steve Cram in 1983. He produced a brilliant final burst to pass Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen and clinch the title, called home by his father Geoff who was the stadium announcer. "It's that moment you cross the line, it's just such euphoria, I just wish you could bottle that up because it soon fades away a little bit," Wightman told BBC Sport. "The disbelief and the shock are something that I will never have again." Wightman also won 800m silver at the European Championships and 1500m bronze at the Commonwealth Games. Photo: Andy Lyons
. Eve Muirhead
Muirhead made it fourth time lucky as she guided Great Britain's women's curling team to gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. As skip, the 32-year-old claimed an elusive gold medal in China at the fourth time of asking, the pinnacle of a career during which she became Scotland's most decorated curler. "I look back and I still wonder how I got myself through lockdown, Covid, everything. It was such a rollercoaster, standing on the podium at the end of it all was very, very special," she told BBC Sport. In 2014, she was the youngest skip to win an Olympic medal as her team claimed bronze. For Scotland, Muirhead won the European Championships three times and she claimed a sixth world mixed doubles title earlier this year alongside Bobby Lammie, before later announcing her retirement from the sport. Photo: John Walton /PA
. Ben Stokes
Stokes, the 2019 Sports Personality winner, starred as England's cricketers won the men's T20 World Cup by beating Pakistan in a thrilling final. Under intense pressure at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, the 32-year-old was there at the end on 52 not out. Having inherited a side with one win in their last 17 Tests, Stokes' England claimed nine victories from 10 games in increasingly audacious fashion against New Zealand, India, South Africa and Pakistan. He captained England to one of their greatest overseas performances, with a bold declaration helping secure victory with a record run rate in their first Test in Pakistan for 17 years. It set his side on the path to a historic 3-0 series win. Stokes told BBC Sport: "I think it shows that you don't have to be stuck in a particular way of playing Test cricket just because it's been done for however long, a long period of time. It's different but it's exciting to watch." Photo: Nick Potts / PA
. Beth Mead
The 27-year-old Arsenal forward won the Golden Boot and was player of the tournament as England claimed a historic triumph at Euro 2022. The Lionesses lifted their first trophy at a major women's tournament with a 2-1 victory after extra time against eight-time champions Germany at Wembley. "It was a proud moment for me and a surreal moment - walking out of that tunnel and going to play in front of a home crowd," Mead said of the final, watched by a record 87,192 crowd. "The day in general, the noise in general, the atmosphere was honestly something I'll never feel or experience again." Mead scored six goals and contributed five assists during the tournament as she bounced back from the disappointment of not being selected to represent Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics a year earlier. She was voted BBC Women's Footballer of the Year 2022 and was runner-up in the Women's Ballon d'Or, the prize awarded to the world's best footballer of the year. Photo: Martin Rickett
1. Jake Wightman
The Edinburgh runner produced a stunning run to take 1500m gold at the World Championships in Oregon. The Scot, 28, was the first British man to win the world title in the event since Steve Cram in 1983. He produced a brilliant final burst to pass Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen and clinch the title, called home by his father Geoff who was the stadium announcer. "It's that moment you cross the line, it's just such euphoria, I just wish you could bottle that up because it soon fades away a little bit," Wightman told BBC Sport. "The disbelief and the shock are something that I will never have again." Wightman also won 800m silver at the European Championships and 1500m bronze at the Commonwealth Games. Photo: Andy Lyons
2. Eve Muirhead
Muirhead made it fourth time lucky as she guided Great Britain's women's curling team to gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. As skip, the 32-year-old claimed an elusive gold medal in China at the fourth time of asking, the pinnacle of a career during which she became Scotland's most decorated curler. "I look back and I still wonder how I got myself through lockdown, Covid, everything. It was such a rollercoaster, standing on the podium at the end of it all was very, very special," she told BBC Sport. In 2014, she was the youngest skip to win an Olympic medal as her team claimed bronze. For Scotland, Muirhead won the European Championships three times and she claimed a sixth world mixed doubles title earlier this year alongside Bobby Lammie, before later announcing her retirement from the sport. Photo: John Walton /PA
3. Ben Stokes
Stokes, the 2019 Sports Personality winner, starred as England's cricketers won the men's T20 World Cup by beating Pakistan in a thrilling final. Under intense pressure at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, the 32-year-old was there at the end on 52 not out. Having inherited a side with one win in their last 17 Tests, Stokes' England claimed nine victories from 10 games in increasingly audacious fashion against New Zealand, India, South Africa and Pakistan. He captained England to one of their greatest overseas performances, with a bold declaration helping secure victory with a record run rate in their first Test in Pakistan for 17 years. It set his side on the path to a historic 3-0 series win. Stokes told BBC Sport: "I think it shows that you don't have to be stuck in a particular way of playing Test cricket just because it's been done for however long, a long period of time. It's different but it's exciting to watch." Photo: Nick Potts / PA
4. Beth Mead
The 27-year-old Arsenal forward won the Golden Boot and was player of the tournament as England claimed a historic triumph at Euro 2022. The Lionesses lifted their first trophy at a major women's tournament with a 2-1 victory after extra time against eight-time champions Germany at Wembley. "It was a proud moment for me and a surreal moment - walking out of that tunnel and going to play in front of a home crowd," Mead said of the final, watched by a record 87,192 crowd. "The day in general, the noise in general, the atmosphere was honestly something I'll never feel or experience again." Mead scored six goals and contributed five assists during the tournament as she bounced back from the disappointment of not being selected to represent Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics a year earlier. She was voted BBC Women's Footballer of the Year 2022 and was runner-up in the Women's Ballon d'Or, the prize awarded to the world's best footballer of the year. Photo: Martin Rickett