Capping off Mary Earps' incredibly eventful 2023, last night the England goalkeeper was named BBC's Sports Personality Of The Year - a title that she more than deserved to take home.
Not only was Mary a key figure in seeing an England football team reach their first World Cup final since 1966, but her personality off the pitch has earned her a legion of fans, too. Who can forget when she danced on the table during a press conference after winning the Euros or when she yelled 'F**k off' at her Spanish opponents after saving a penalty in the World Cup final? No wonder her World Cup shirt - once Nike finally decided to stock it - continues to sell out over and over again.
But despite the fact that Sports Personality Of The Year is decided by a public vote, some people have taken to social media to suggest that the ceremony was rigged. The loudest of those voices being Piers Morgan, who said, 'Trying to get my head around two of England’s women footballers winning BBC SPOTY in successive years… while male sporting superstars with great personalities like Rory McIlroy, Frankie Dettori & Ronnie O’Sullivan have never won it'.
Sadly, his comment is unsurprising, and not only because it comes from him.
The Sports Personality Of The Year award has been given out every year since 1954 when it was first won by Sir Chris Chataway, but the first woman didn't win it until 1962 (Anita Lonsbrough, a swimmer). In fact in all 69 years, a woman has only picked up the trophy 16 times. Naturally, men have been winning the trophy in consecutive years, but Piers Morgan has never taken it upon himself to complain about that. Indeed, Sir Andy Murray has won the award three times.
What is it about Mary Earps' win that led Piers Morgan to complain? Well, he even said so himself it's the fact two women have won that he can't accept.
Despite winning - or coming close to winning - major tournaments in recent years, the Lionesses just aren't given the respect that they deserve merely because they are women, and it's the same in many other sports. In fact, the Women's Six Nations only gained their first sponsor last year (TikTok).
Luckily, they still have a huge number of supporters who recognise the talents they are - and they've seen sense: that Mary Earps deserves the crown.
Who is Mary Earps?
Mary Earps is a professional footballer who plays as goalkeeper for Manchester United in the Women's Super League and the England national team. She has previously played for Leicester City, Nottingham Forest, Doncaster Rover Belles, Coventry City, Birmingham City, Bristol and Reading.
Mary became one of the biggest stars of the World Cup in 2023 and kept the team in the tournament with her impeccable goalkeeping – especially in the penalty shootout against Nigeria. She was also the England keeper in their winning Euros team last summer.
First, the Lionesses caught the nation's attention by winning the Women's Euros against Germany in 2022, and then at the Women's World Cup in 2023 they narrowly missed out on the trophy with a 1-0 loss to Spain in the final.
Since then Mary's star has been on the rise and after taking home the main prize last night at the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year awards ceremony, the only way is up for the England goalkeeper who has captured the nation's hearts.
How old is Mary Earps?
Mary Earps turned 30 on 7 March.
How tall is Mary Earps?
If you're wondering how tall she is in between the posts, Mary Earps' height stands at 5'8.
What is Mary Earps' Instagram?
You can find Mary Earps on Instagram at @1maryearps, where she shares interview clips and snaps from her latest victories to her 739k followers. She also posts a few glamorous award show outfits too.
After winning the Euros, Mary shared a series of celebratory photos of her and her teammates with the caption: 'Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it. This has been my greatest joy and privilege; to win a major championship on home turf is a once in a lifetime thing.'
She has also shared victory photos from every game in the World Cup so far. As she should!
Who is Mary Earps' partner?
Like a lot of the Lionesses, Mary Earps keeps details of her personal life private and there is nothing online to suggest she is married or in a relationship.
It was actually reported in February that she is currently single. As FIFA women's top goalkeeper, who's been playing football since she was eight years old, she's been pretty busy!
What is Mary Earps' salary?
Mary Earps is reported to be worth £2.4million, with a salary of £318,000 a season a Manchester United - a large sum but sadly nowhere near the salary of David De Tea - her former male counterpart at Manchester United - who's worth £19.5 million.
What has Mary Earps said about the 2023 World Cup?
Mary Earps is not just passionate about football, but about the way in which her teams' success can inspire those around her.
Speaking to The Athletic in 2023, she said, 'I have more responsibility than ever to give a positive message to people who may take comfort or confidence in my journey. That really feels like my purpose. Football is my vehicle, but this is my path.'
What awards has Mary Earps' won?
As things currently stand, Mary Earps is the game's best female goalkeeper. When she accepted her Best Women's Goalkeeper award at FIFA’s The Best ceremony in Paris in 2023, she dedicated it to 'anyone who has ever been in a dark place' and credited the people who 'picked [her] up off the kitchen floor' to help her achieve her dreams.
She added, 'Sometimes success looks like this, collecting trophies, sometimes it's just waking up and putting one step in front of the other. There's only one of you in the world, and that's more than good enough. Be unapologetically yourself. Thank you everyone.'
As of December 2023, Mary Earps can also add her Sports Personality Of The Year trophy to her already heaving shelves as well as BBC Women's Footballer of the Year and Sunday Times' Sportswoman of the year.
Why did Mary Earps' win Sports Personality Of The Year?
To us that seems like a bit of a stupid question because Mary Earps is currently one of the best in the business - and we're taking both the men's and women's teams into consideration.
Mary was one of the Lionesses' stand out players as they became the first England football team to reach a World Cup final since 1966.
Speaking about her win, Mary said, 'It feels pretty great off the back of a couple of really big years and 2023 has been wild in ways I couldn't expect. I'm really, really grateful.'
What was Mary Earps wearing for the SPOTY awards?
A special mention of course has to go to Mary Earps' dress, which she wore to the Sports Personality of the Year awards ceremony, which was a stunning black lingerie-inspired dress from designer David Koma, rumoured to have a price tag of around £1,460.