Welsh rugby star shortlisted for William Hill Sports Book of the Year

Welsh rugby star, Gareth Thomas, in on the shortlist for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award the richest and longest-running prize for sports writing, it was announced today.

Celebrated sports figures feature highly on the diverse list and include rugby Gareth Thomas the first professional sportsman to come out whilst still playing for his autobiography, Proud; A biography of iconic figure skater JohnCurry, Alone, written by documentary maker Bill Jones.

Both books document personal struggles to keep their sexuality a secret whilst maintaining their public sporting personas.

Joining Thomas and Jones on the prestigious list is a biography of footballing legend Bobby Moore by The Times chief sports correspondent, Matt Dickinson; BobbyMoore: The Man in Full ,explores the dark personal story behind the sporting success of the World Cup captain.

Also in the running for the top prize is Run or Die, the autobiography of Spanish endurance athlete and 2014 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, KilianJornet, which charts his journey from an 18-month-old who regularly hiked in the mountains for five hours at a time to becoming the fastest person to run up and down Mt Kilimanjaro.

Australian author Anna Krien also makes the list with Night Games: Sex, Power and Sport, which takes the high-profile rape trial of a young Australian Rules player as the starting point for a wider examination of the darker recesses of sport.

The shortlist is completed by two histories of sport Played in London and Floodlights and Touchlines. The former, by journalist Simon Inglis has already changed the landscape of London, as his research for the book has been credited with the Grade II listing of five sporting buildings. The latter, by sports journalist and university lecturer Rob Steen, explores spectator sports intrinsic place in culture via a thematic history of professional sport.

Both Inglis and Steen as well as Jones have previously been shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book ofthe Year Award.

The seven titles in the running to be crowned the winner of the 26,000 prize are as follows (alphabetically by author surname): Bobby Moore: The Man in Full by Matt Dickinson (Yellow Jersey Press)

Played in London: Charting the Heritage of a City at Play by Simon Inglis(English Heritage)

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Welsh rugby star shortlisted for William Hill Sports Book of the Year