TWO inspiring Flintshire athletes have been nominated for one of the UK's top sporting honours.

BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality Of The Year shortlist for 2019 has been announced, including our two Golden Girls.

This year sees a record number of sportswomen shortlisted, including Flint's famous "The Headhunter" Jade Jones and Paralympian Sabrina Fortune.

2019 has been an amazing year for Taekwondo’s Jade Jones. Perhaps even eclipsing her breakthrough gold medal triumph at the 2012 London Olympics, when she became the first Briton to win a taekwondo medal, this year saw Jade claim the first World Championship gold medal of her career.

Jade won the public vote for the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year in 2012 and was appointed MBE the following year.

Sabrina Fortune, who comes from Bryn-y-baal and studied hospitality management at Coleg Cambria in Wrexham, won gold for Team GB in the F20 shot put at the World Para-Athletics Championships in Berlin, with a championship-record throw of 13.30m

Sabrina has speech dyspraxia which makes communication difficult.

She was selected for Team GB for the Summer Paralympics in Rio in 2016, competing in the shot put. She threw a then personal best of 12.94m to win the bronze medal.

Sabrina and Jade have made it to the final eight contenders for the Sports Personality of the Year award.

This year’s list contains a record number of sportswomen, with seven amongst the eight athletes shortlisted and three para-athletes.

The other contenders are:

• The winner of her fourth consecutive world title in the F46 javelin, Hollie Arnold.

• Cyclist Elinor Barker who won two golds and two silvers on the track at world level competitions this year.

• Skier Menna Fitzpatrick who won two golds, two silvers and a bronze on the Para Alpine World Championships.

• Alun Wyn Jones who won his third Grand Slam and captained Wales to a World Cup semi-final. Alun Wyn has also been shortlisted for the BBC network Sports Personality of the Year.

• Sailor Hannah Mills who took gold in the 470 Class World Championship in Japan.

• Lauren Price who became the first Welsh boxer to win gold at the World Championships.

The shortlist was chosen by an expert panel made up of former Wales International rugby union player and National Director of the English Institute of Sport Nigel Walker, former Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson; Brian Davies Director of Sport Wales; former Wales striker Nathan Blake and sports writer Carolyn Hitt.

Nathan Blake, who was part of the judging panel, said:

“This was another great year of Welsh sport and the judges had their work cut out for them. We had to make some difficult decisions, but this shortlist reflects the breadth of Welsh sporting success throughout the year – from track and field, to sailing, boxing, rugby and more. These athletes are all winners who have made a significant contribution to Welsh sport and on behalf of all involved in the judging process I’d like to thank them for making our decisions so difficult this year, keep up the good work.”

The winner will be decided by public vote, and announced at a celebratory evening at the Celtic Manor Hotel on December 10, which will celebrate both the best of Welsh elite and grassroots sport.

The Wales Sport Awards is a partnership between BBC Wales and Sport Wales, celebrating the best sporting achievement at elite and community level. Award categories include the Getting Wales Active award, the award for Great Sports Story, the Inspiring Person award, the Lifetime Achievement award, as well as the BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality of the Year award.

Voting for the BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality of the Year opens on Monday, December 2, and closes on Sunday, December 8. Full details of how to vote will be published on bbc.co.uk/sportwales