UK - Mark Cavendish (Cycling)
"In Britain, Mark Cavendish is the clear sports person of the year due to his amazing cycling achievements, but if you were looking for a less famous name then Sarah Stevenson certainly deserves accolades. She became taekwondo world champion in the same year that she lost both of her parents to cancer. She says she is now focused on winning gold at the London 2012 Olympics and only after that will she allow herself to start grieving." (Sean Fay)
Spain - Rafael Nadal (Tennis)
"He may have lost seven finals in 2011, but Nadal also won the definitive point for Spain to clinch the Davis Cup success. After the final, Nadal recognised that he felt "tired" and "not very motivated", so we have to support him now more than ever. Despite still being pretty young, Nadal is the greatest Spanish tennis player of all time, and he still has a great deal of stories to tell and titles to win. He must be in the top three tennis players of all time, and he can win many more Grand Slams in 2012. But he needs the help and support of everyone in Spain if he is to enjoy a great 2012 and hopefully win the Olympics in London too." (Manuel Manero)
Italy - Federica Pellegrini (swimming)
"Pellegrini has to be the sports person of the year because she has achieved incredible success in her sport, all in spite of an eventful time in her private life. She won two gold medals at the Swimming World Championships in Shanghai: 200m freestyle and 400m freestyle. In so doing, she became the first athlete in history to win two gold medals in different editions of the World Championships (she won the gold in Rome in 2009). Meanwhile, she split up with two coaches: Philippe Lucas at the end of the World Championships (after she hired him in January), and Federico Bonifacenti a few weeks ago. Her new coach is Claudio Rossetto - the same coach of Filippo Magnini, her new boyfriend - and she has flourished since. She also broke up with her former fiancée, Luca Marin, just after the World Championships in Shanghai, but continues to perform despite such traumatic events in her life." (Daniele Fantini)
Germany - Philip Koster (Windsurfing) / Magdalena Neuner (Biathlon)
"There are two, and I cannot pick between them. First, Philip Koster, who became Germany's first world champion in windsurfing, and had a very distinguished year. And second, I have to nominate Magdalena Neuer, as she announced her retirement from biathlon at the end of the season after a glorious career. She has been a brilliant performer and personality, and her career will be very fondly remembered." (Michael Wollny)
Russia - Vyacheslav Malafeev (Football)
"It has to be Malafeev, the Zenit St Petersburg and Russia goalkeeper. He lost his wife in a car accident this year, had a fight with one of Russia's top TV-commentators, but still managed to produce the best year in his sporting career. Malafeev assumed the position of the first-choice goalkeeper in the national team after Igor Akinfeev had picked up a serious injury, and he hasn’t conceded a single goal in the last four matches. He also produced a stunning performance in the Champions league, where he has not conceded a single goal in the last three matches either. His superb performance against Porto at Estadio Dragao in matchday six enabled Zenit to go through." (Ilya Minsky)
Turkey - Nuri Sahin (Football)
"2011 was not a good year for individual performances from Turkish sportsmen or women. Perhaps one of the most underrated Turkish footballers of his era is Sahin, so he has to be recognised. He has never been a star of the national team, but he is growing in prominence internationally. After a hugely successful season with Borussia Dortmund, he is now an idol for all young Turkish footballers and led his side to the Bundesliga title. He has since become the first Turkish player to represent the great Real Madrid." (Onur Saygin)
Poland - Agnieszka Radwanska (Tennis)
"Radwanska used to annoy her fans and fellow players with her behaviour on and off the court, but she has finally changed and matured. This season she changed her coach (her father was replaced by Tomasz Wiktorowski and this marked a huge overall change. She finally stopped swearing and started playing the proper tennis that some experts described as "the most varied in women's tennis". She enjoyed a tremendous finish to the season as she ended a drought of over two years without a WTA title by winning tournaments in Carslbad, Tokyo and Beijing. She also reached the top-eight of the world rankings for the first time and was the most exciting player at the Istanbul masters." (Przemek Kruk)