It’s been a sensational year for British sport and already bookmakers are offering odds on who will be crowned BBC Sports Personality of the year.

Team GB (which it must be stated also includes Olympians from Northern Ireland) has many candidates for the much coveted title though there are others in the frame also.

The current betting from across a cross range of high street bookmakers sees double gold medal winning swimmer Rebecca Adlington installed as 3/2 favourite.

Next up is cycling sensation Chris Hoy from Scotland at 3/1.

Non Olympians feature too with Lewis Hamilton (4/1) from the world of Formula One and tennis star Andrew Murray (45/1) also in the mix. Had Murray managed to win this week’s US Open final in New York he would have surely jumped to the top of the betting.

Sailor Ben Ainslie is on odds of 64/1 after he captured gold for Great Britain for the third Olympics in succession in China.

Joe Calzaghe, Rebecca Romero, Bradley Wiggins, Tom Daley and a whole host of others look like real outsiders at the moment.

Rebecca Adlington, the double gold British swimmer at the Olympic Games, seems to be head and shoulders above the competition at the moment (as she was in the pool) but there has been some big money for the likeable Scot Chris Hoy who was astounding in the cycling. Strangely, the fact that Hoy has been so good for so long may count against him in the competition for the crown as we seem to have come to expect the very best from him every time he gets on the track.

However, do not write off Andrew Murray if he can continue his excellent form in the tennis!