SPOTY 2021 Odds: Asher-Smith and Joshua attract early support

It's little more than a month since Lewis Hamilton was crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2020 but bettors are already backing the leading candidates for 2021.

The sprinter Dina Asher-Smith 9.28/1, who returns to indoor competition on Friday, is attracting early support on the Exchange from bettors who are perhaps expecting her to perform strongly at the Tokyo Olympics this summer.

She would probably have been in contention for SPOTY 2020 had the Olympics not been rescheduled due to the pandemic. The previous year Asher-Smith became the first British woman to win a global sprint title, storming home to take gold in the 200m at the World Athletics Championships in Doha.

This summer she has her sights set firmly on a gold medal in Tokyo - an achievement that would almost-certainly make her one of the frontrunner's for SPOTY '21.

The cyclist Laura Kenny is another who is targeting a medal in Tokyo and she's 16.015/1 in the early SPOTY betting.

Beating Fury would make Joshua strong contender

Anthony Joshua 11.521/2 is set for a big year. He's 1.141/7 to fight Tyson Fury before the end of this year. It's the fight the world wants to see and, were Joshua to triumph, he would be in with a shot at SPOTY glory.

That's by no means a given, however, as Fury, who asked to be removed from SPOTY contention last year, is 1.695/7 to win the fight, with Joshua 2.6413/8.

Of course we can't rule out 2020 winner Lewis Hamilton 12.523/2 who will this year try to set a new record for Drivers' Championship wins by taking his eighth title.

Andy Murray was the last person to win consecutive SPOTY awards in 2016.

Kane to lead England to Euros glory?

It could be stunning summer of sport with the rescheduled Euro 2020 football tournament also taking place.

England 6.611/2 are among the favourites and, captain Harry Kane were to fire them to their first major trophy since 1966, he could well win SPOTY.

Kane is 10/1 on Sportsbook.