10. Charlotte Dujardin (Dressage)
Considered an outsider in the run up to the Olympics the rise and rise of Charlotte Dujardin is anything but phenomenal. In 2011, just over a year prior to her double gold performance at the London Games Charlotte hadnt even competed in the dressage format at professional level. She took up the sport after using her grandmothers inheritance to purchase a horse in 2007. Five years later and she is a gold medalist. There has been a lot of talk about the importance of the horse she rode, but anybody who can reach the pinnacle of their sport in such a short time is a more than worthy recipient of the Sports Personality of the Year Award.