WELWYN Garden City athlete Jodie Williams is in the running for an award at tonight’s (Sunday’s) BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2010.

Teenage sprint sensation Jodie is up for the coveted BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year gong for the second year in a row.

The Herts Phoenix runner, 17, will rub shoulders with the UK’s biggest sporting names, including former England football captain David Beckham, at tonight’s glittering awards do in Birmingham.

Runner-up in the Young SPOTY category last year, the world junior 100m champion from Hertfordshire has again been shortlisted for the accolade.

From an initial list of 10 nominees, she has made the top three alongside last year’s winner Tom Daley and weightlifter Zoe Smith.

Jodie struck 100m gold and 200m silver at August’s IAAF World Junior Championships in Moncton, Canada.

Zoe, meanwhile, became Great Britain’s first female weightlifting Commonwealth Games medallist by winning a bronze medal in Delhi.

Teenage diver Daley won double gold at the Commonwealth Games in India, coming first in both the 10m individual competition and the 10m synchro.

He is also up for the main Sports Personality of the Year award, won 12 months ago by Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs.

Champion jump jockey AP McCoy, who won this year’s Grand National on Don’t Push It, is the favourite for the prestigious trophy.

Also strongly tipped are Ryder Cup golfers Graeme McDowell, the US Open champion, and Lee Westwood, the new world number one.

Darts player Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor, cyclist Mark Cavendish, who won five stages of the Tour de France, heavyweight boxing world champion David Haye, European heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis, England cricketer Graeme Swann and Winter Olympics bob skeleton gold medallist Amy Williams are the others shortlisted.

The Sports Personality of the Year 2010 winners will be announced live on BBC One tonight (Sunday) from Birmingham’s LG Arena.

The programme, which starts at 7pm, will be presented by Sue Barker, Gary Lineker and Jake Humphrey.

David Beckham, England’s most capped outfield player of all time, will pick up a lifetime achievement award.