Page 98 - Powerlist 2019 - Digital Edition

Sport

Denise Lewis

Olympian, broadcaster

Denise made the difficult transition from sports star to on-
screen commentator look easy, and today is regarded as one
of the BBC’s most respected and in-demand commentators.
This past year has seen her fly to the Gold Coast in
Australia to commentate on the 2018 Commonwealth Games
and represent England as the President of Commonwealth
Games England.
She is regarded as the ‘queen of track and field’, winning
Commonwealth heptathlon titles in 1994 and 1998. She also
won gold in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Active across various parts of the sporting industry,
she has served as the President of Commonwealth
Games England, where she provided leadership and
guidance ahead of the recent Commonwealth Games. The
organisation has been tasked to manage the preparation and
participation of the England team.
Alongside her gold medals she has a number of accolades
under her belt including an OBE in 2001. At the British
Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards in 2015, Denise became the
first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award and she
has won Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year a record
Lewis Hamilton three times.
A popular face on British TV, she has been a finalist on
Formula 1 Champion BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing and its Christmas Special.
She has also presented non-various sports shows, including
Right on the Money: Live, a daytime series for BBC One,
Lewis won his fourth world title at the Mexican Grand children’s reality television show Camp Orange and the
Prix in 2017. The achievement solidified his position as the BBC’s Secret Britain.
greatest British Formula 1 driver in history, moving him
one championship title clear of Sir Jackie Stewart. As the
Powerlist went to press, Lewis was on the verge of winning
his fifth title.
Just before the 2018 German Grand Prix, it was reported
he signed a two-year contract with Mercedes, reported to be
worth up to £40million, making him the highest-paid driver
in the history of Formula 1.
Sports commentators say that 2017 was Lewis’s best in the
11 years he has been with Formula 1. He now joins Sebastian
Vettel and Frenchman Alain Prost on four world titles,
behind only Michael Schumacher, the all-time record holder
on seven, and Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio’s five.
He won his first world title in 2008 when he was just 23.
His victory made him the first black driver to win the title, as
well as the youngest driver ever to take the overall honours
in its then 48-year history.
Hamilton joined McLaren more than a decade ago, and
he drove for them alongside Fernando Alonso. He took to
the Formula 1 track for his debut season and gained six pole
positions and won four races. He got close – one point away
– from winning the world title.
A year later he was world champion. In 2015 he became
one of the few drivers in F1 history to win three world
championships, drawing level with his idol Ayrton Senna.
He stayed with McLaren until 2013 when he switched to
Mercedes.
In 2009, he was awarded an MBE.Off the track, Hamilton
has a keen interest in fashion and in September he unveiled
his collaboration with American fashion designer Tommy
Hilfiger, who worked with him to create his own line,
TommyXLewis, which he launched in Shanghai.

94 Powerlist 2019