Rory McIlroy became emotional as he paid tribute to Sergio Aguiar and David Stancombe, the fathers of two of the girls in last year’s Southport stabbing attack, at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards.
Masters champion McIlroy is in contention to win the Sports Personality of the Year for the first time, but during Thursday night’s ceremony in Salford the Northern Irishman welled up following a segment that honoured Mr Aguiar and Mr Stancombe, the recipients of the Helen Rollason Award.
The grieving fathers completed the London Marathon in April to honour the lives of their daughters, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, who were among the three victims of the Southport stabbing attack last summer.
McIlroy, who completed golf’s grand slam when he triumphed at the Masters, was asked by BBC presenter Clare Balding being a father has changed how he views his achievements. His young daughter, Poppy, was at Augusta as he won the Masters.
McIlroy paused and said: “I think as being a father of a little girl, seeing Alice’s and Elsie’s dad up there tonight - they are two absolute heroes. I just wanna, um...”
McIlroy stopped again and there was applause from the crowd as the Northern Irishman blinked a tear from his eye.
“I think being a dad, it makes the losses easier, but it also makes the wins even more special. So to share that with Erica and Poppy [is special].
"My family have watched me go through all of this, along with the public. Everyone has gone on this journey with me."
During the Sports Personality of the Year ceremony, Mr Aguiar said: “Thank you everyone for the award it means a lot to me, my wife, and my princess Alice.
“I want to dedicate this award to our three girls: Alice, Elsie and Bebe. Keep dancing. I want to spread Alice's magic across the world. I am going to keep running and raising money for her foundation.”
