England and Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps admitted that she felt “sick” as she prepared to give her speech after being named BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2023 on Tuesday. An incredible year for the 30-year-old saw her play a key role in the Lionesses’ World Cup campaign in Australia and New Zealand while starring for United in the Women’s Super League.
Earps played every minute as England reached the World Cup final, keeping three clean sheets to win the competition’s Golden Glove award and she was also voted England Women’s Player of the Year.
With United, Earps took the WSL Golden Glove having kept a record 14 clean sheets. She became the first goalkeeper to keep 50 clean sheets in the competition’s history and also finished fifth in the Ballon d’Or voting.
Despite her ability to perform on the big stage, Earps admitted that she was feeling nauseous walking up to collect her award at the BBC ceremony. “I feel a bit sick actually,” Earps said. “First of all I’d like to say how humbled I am to be on a list of such incredible athletes. I’ve really enjoyed hearing your stories tonight and I’ve really loved hearing your stories tonight. congratulations to you all.
“Thanks for voting for me, everyone who voted for me; I probably should have said that first. For me, this is the ultimate all-round sporting accolade and this is just … wow. It’s not been the easiest journey and I wouldn’t be where I am today without having a number of incredible people in my corner, so I’d just like to say thank you to them.
“The last two years have been unbelievable, I’ve done more than I could have ever imagined. Thank you to my goalkeeping coaches, my teammates and my coaches. I don’t know what else to say so I am going to get off the stage before I get the boot from Gary Lineker.”
