List of sporting knights and dames
This is a list of people who have been appointed knights or dames in the British honours system or another Commonwealth realms honours system for their contributions to sport.
Administration
- Sir Arthur Gold ; British high jumper and athletics administrator who led the British athletics team at three Olympic Games and three Commonwealth Games, and was in charge of the British team at the 1992 Winter and Summer Olympics. Chairman of the British Olympic Association and of the Commonwealth Games Council, and life president of the European Athletics Association.
- Dame Marea Hartman ; British athletics sports administrator.
- Dame Elizabeth Mary Nicholl ; Nicholl was a British sports administrator, former netball player, chief executive of UK Sport from 2010–19, and is current president of World Netball.
- Dame Sarai-Paea Bareman ; New Zealand association football administrator and former player, and currently chief women's football officer for FIFA.
Athletics
- Sir Roger Bannister
- Sir Murray Halberg
- Sir Christopher Chataway
- Dame Mary Peters ; Peters was appointed a Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter in 2019, becoming Lady Mary Peters.
- Sir Peter Snell
- Dame Kelly Holmes
- Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Baroness Grey-Thompson ; Grey-Thompson was made a Life peer in 2010.
- Sebastian Coe, Baron Coe ; Coe had been made a Life peer in 2000.
- Sir John Walker
- Sir Mo Farah
- Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill
- Dame Valerie Adams
- Dame Yvette Corlett Williams ; Williams accepted the honour and it was made effective before she died. It was not appointed posthumously despite her death before formal investiture. Unlike certain other honours, knighthoods and damehoods cannot be appointed posthumously.
- Sir Brendan Foster
- Dame Sarah Springman ; British-Swiss triathlete, civil engineer, and academic, was appointed DBE for services to engineering and international sports administration.
- Dame Denise Lewis ; British sports presenter, sports administrator and former track and field athlete, who specialised in the heptathlon.
Badminton
- Sir Craig Reedie
Boxing
- Sir Henry Cooper
Canoeing
- Dame Lisa Carrington
Cricket
''See List of cricketers who were knighted''Cycling/Racing
- Sir Hubert Opperman ; Opperman was perhaps best known for his cycling achievements, but his 1968 knighthood as a Knight Bachelor was in recognition of his service as Australian High Commissioner to Malta.
- Sir Chris Hoy
- Dame Sarah Storey
- Sir Dave Brailsford ; Brailsford was Performance Director, British Cycling. Knighted for services to Cycling and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
- Sir Bradley Wiggins
- Sir Jason Kenny
- Dame Laura Kenny
- Sir Mark Cavendish
Equestrian
- Sir Harry Llewellyn
- Sir Mark Todd
- Sir Lee Pearson
- Dame Catriona Williams (2025, DNZM,
Fencing
- Dame Mary Glen-Haig
Football
''See List of football personalities with British honours''Golf
- Dame Joan Hood Hammond ; Hammond was an Australian operatic soprano and singing coach as well as a champion golfer. She won the women's junior golf championship for New South Wales in 1929, and the New South Wales Women's Amateur Championship in 1932, 1934, and 1935.
- Sir Henry Cotton ; Cotton had accepted the knighthood and it was made effective before his death. It was not appointed posthumously despite his death before his formal investiture.
- Sir Bob Charles
- Sir Nick Faldo
- Dame Laura Davies
- Dame Lydia Ko
Horse racing
- Sir Gordon Richards
- Sir Jack Jarvis
- Sir Cecil Boyd-Rochfort
- Sir Noel Murless
- Sir Peter O'Sullevan
- Sir Michael Stoute
- Sir Henry Cecil
- Sir Tony McCoy
Motor racing
- Sir Henry Segrave
- Sir Malcolm Campbell
- Sir Jack Brabham
- Sir Frank Williams
- Sir Stirling Moss
- Sir Jackie Stewart
- Sir Patrick Head
- Sir Lewis Hamilton
Mountaineering
- Sir Edmund Hillary ; he was appointed a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter in 1995.
- Sir John Hunt ; he was appointed a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter in 1979.
- Sir Chris Bonington
- Sir Graeme Dingle
Netball
- Dame Lois Muir ; Muir was a New Zealand netball coach and administrator, and a former representative netball and basketball player
- Dame Noeline Taurua
Rowing
- Sir Steve Redgrave
- Sir Matthew Pinsent
- Dame Di Ellis
- Sir Don Rowlands
- Dame Katherine Grainger
Rugby League
- Sir Billy Boston
Rugby Union
- Sir Wilson Whineray
- Sir Brian Lochore
- Sir Colin Meads
- Sir Clive Woodward
- Sir Ian McGeechan
- Sir Fred Allen
- Sir John Graham
- Sir Graham Henry
- Sir John Kirwan
- Sir Gordon Tietjens
- Sir Gareth Edwards
- Sir Michael Jones ; although known as a rugby union player, Jones was knighted for services to the Pacific community and youth.
- Sir Bryan Williams
- Sir Bill Beaumont ; appointed GBE in 2024.
- Sir Graham Lowe ; although known as a rugby league coach and administrator, Lowe, co-owner of the Bradford Bulls, was knighted for services to youth and education, primarily through his work in the Lowe Foundation.
- Sir Steve Hansen
- Sir Wayne Shelford
- Dame Farah Palmer
- Sir Wayne Smith
Sheep Shearing
- Sir David Fagan
Swimming
- Dame Sophie Pascoe
Squash
- Dame Susan Devoy
Tennis
- Sir Herbert Wilberforce ; Wilberforce was vice-president of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club from 1911 to 1921, and president from 1921 to 1936.
- Sir Norman Brookes
- Sir Andy Murray
- Dame Ruia Morrison
Triathlon
- Dame Flora Duffy
Yachting
- Sir Francis Chichester
- Sir Alec Rose
- Dame Naomi James
- Sir James Hardy
- Sir Peter Blake
- Sir Robin Knox-Johnston
- Sir Durward Knowles
- Sir Chay Blyth
- Sir Russell Coutts
- Dame Ellen MacArthur
- Sir Ben Ainslie
- Sir Godfrey Kelly
Wheelchair basketball
- Sir Philip Craven