Double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes has found herself in impressive company as one of the six finalists for the prestigious William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2024.
Her memoir, Unique, captures the essence of her storied life — from early days in the military to reaching Olympic gold, all while wrestling with the decision to keep her sexuality private until publicly coming out at 52.
The candid nature of Unique brings readers close to the emotional and social challenges that coloured Holmes’ journey.
Holmes’ book isn’t the only one in this year’s shortlist to delve into the extraordinary lives of trailblazing women.
These Heavy Black Bones by former British swimming champion Rebecca Achieng Ajulu-Bushell paints a vivid picture of her experiences as the first Black woman to swim for Great Britain.
Ajulu-Bushell’s narrative resonates with grit and resilience, as does My Beautiful Sisters by Khalida Popal, which details the harrowing journey of Afghan women’s football team co-founder, who took on the grim realities of sexual abuse within Afghan sports while seeking refuge in Europe amid the Taliban’s return to power.
This lineup wouldn’t be complete without David Peace’s Munichs, a compelling retelling of Manchester United’s journey following the 1958 Munich air disaster, and Conor Niland’s The Racket, where the former Irish professional tennis player gives a raw account of his experiences on the circuit.
Rounding off the selection is a posthumous gem: When I Passed The Statue Of Liberty I Became Black by Harry Edward, which reflects on the life of Britain’s first Black Olympic medalist and his journey across the civil rights era in both Britain and the U.S.
Following last year’s win by Lauren Fleishman’s Good for a Girl: My Life Running in a Man’s World, each of these finalists is vying for recognition in a ceremony that celebrates the power of sports literature to transcend boundaries.
Alyson Rudd, Chair of the judging panel, commented, “Selecting six titles to make this year’s William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award shortlist was no mean feat, from a longlist of 17 fantastic books.
But we are delighted to announce the entries that have impressed us most, with their diverse range of perspectives exhibiting the very best of sports writing.”
This year’s awards ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, November 19th, when the winner will take home a £30,000 prize along with the coveted title.
Each finalist presents a story that extends beyond the scoreboard, capturing human spirit and struggle.
| Year | Title | Author(s) | Sport |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Good for a Girl: My Life Running in a Man’s World | Lauren Fleshman | Athletics |
| 2022 | Beryl: In Search of Britain’s Greatest Athlete | Jeremy Wilson | Cycling |
| 2021 | Why We Kneel, How We Rise | Michael Holding | Athletics/Cricket |
| 2020 | The Rodchenkov Affair | Dr Grigory Rodchenkov | Athletics |
| 2019 | The Great Romantic: Cricket and the Golden Age of Neville Cardus | Duncan Hamilton | Cricket |
| 2018 | A Boy in the Water | Tom Gregory | Long-Distance Swimming |
| 2018 | The Lost Soul of Eamonn Magee | Paul D. Gibson | Boxing |
| 2017 | Tom Simpson: Bird on the Wire | Andy McGrath | Cycling |
| 2016 | Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life | William Finnegan | Surfing |
| 2015 | The Game of Our Lives: The Meaning and Making of English Football | David Goldblatt | Football |
| 2014 | Night Games: Sex, Power and a Journey into the Dark Heart of Sport | Anna Krien | Australian Rules Football |
| 2013 | Doped: The Real Life Story of the 1960s Racehorse Doping Gang | Jamie Reid | Horse Racing |
| 2012 | The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups, and Winning at All Costs | Tyler Hamilton & Daniel Coyle | Cycling |
| 2011 | A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke | Ronald Reng | Football |
| 2010 | Beware of the Dog: Rugby’s Hard Man Reveals All | Brian Moore | Rugby |
| 2009 | Harold Larwood | Duncan Hamilton | Cricket |
| 2008 | Coming Back to Me: The Autobiography of Marcus Trescothick | Marcus Trescothick & Peter Hayter | Cricket |
| 2007 | Provided You Don’t Kiss Me: 20 Years with Brian Clough | Duncan Hamilton | Football |
| 2006 | Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson | Geoffrey Ward | Boxing |
| 2005 | My Father & Other Working Class Football Heroes | Gary Imlach | Football |
| 2004 | Basil D’Oliveira: Cricket and Conspiracy: the Untold Story | Peter Oborne | Cricket |
| 2003 | Broken Dreams: Vanity, Greed and the Souring of British Football | Tom Bower | Football |
| 2002 | In Black and White: The Untold Story of Joe Louis and Jesse Owens | Donald McRae | Athletics, Boxing |
| 2001 | Seabiscuit: The True Story of Three Men and a Racehorse | Laura Hillenbrand | Horse Racing |
| 2000 | It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life | Lance Armstrong & Sally Jenkins | Cycling |
| 1999 | A Social History of English Cricket | Derek Birley | Cricket |
| 1998 | Angry White Pyjamas: An Oxford Poet Trains with the Tokyo Riot Police | Robert Twigger | Aikido |
| 1997 | A Lot of Hard Yakka: Cricketing Life on the County Circuit | Simon Hughes | Cricket |
| 1996 | Dark Trade: Lost in Boxing | Donald McRae | Boxing |
| 1995 | A Good Walk Spoiled: Days and Nights on the PGA Tour | John Feinstein | Golf |
| 1994 | Football Against the Enemy | Simon Kuper | Football |
| 1993 | Endless Winter: The Inside Story of the Rugby Revolution | Stephen Jones | Rugby |
| 1992 | Fever Pitch: A Fan’s Life | Nick Hornby | Football |
| 1991 | Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times | Thomas Hauser | Boxing |
| 1990 | Rough Ride: An Insight into Pro Cycling | Paul Kimmage | Cycling |
| 1989 | True Blue: The Oxford Boat Race Mutiny | Dan Topolski & Patrick Robinson | Rowing |