Sportswomen have reacted angrily to the release of the shortlist for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award which contains no female nominees.

Stockport swimmer Keri-Anne Payne was among those overlooked despite winning gold in the 10k open water event at the World Championships in Shanghai in July.

Payne was dignified after the 10-man list was announced. “We don’t need awards just the support from the Great British public! So keep it coming,” she said.

Her team-mate Rebecca Adlington – who also became a World Champion in Shanghai – was openly critical.

“Think there have been some great women in sport this year, including my best friend @KeriannePayne and it’s sad they haven’t been recognised,” she tweeted.

The shortlist was collated from the nominations of sports editors of selected newspapers and magazines, including the Manchester Evening News.

Nine of the 27 editors didn’t think a single woman in British sport was worthy of the award, with only seven publications putting forward more than one female. The BBC revealed on Thursday that they are looking into how the shortlist is generated.

Wigan track star Jenny Meadows, who hopes to win a medal in the 800m at the London Olympics next year, was ‘upset for her fellow female athletes’ after the list was revealed.

“There are at least two women who should be nominated in the place of a couple of the men,” she said.

“I am upset for some of my fellow female athletes who would have been really justifiable in their nomination. World Champions like Keri-Anne and Rebecca must be left wondering what more they can do to be recognised.

“Chrissie Wellington (four time Ironman triathlon World Champion) is one of my favourite athletes and would definitely be worth her place on the list.

“Unfortunately, it’s men in sport who generate the headlines and that has been reflected by the editors’ selections. All the women have been dignified in their response to the list because that’s just what we women do.”

Andy Murray is in contention for the award, for instance, after a solid but unremarkable year on the tennis court.

Surprise

Sebastian Coe, the head of the London 2012 Organising Committee, who won the Sports Personality award himself in 1979, expressed his surprise at the absence of women from the list.

“We have had Rebecca Adlington and other women World Champions this year.

“Two women, Hannah England and Jessica Ennis, have won silver medals at the Athletics World Championships, one of the toughest championships in which to win a medal, so I am surprised.” Diane Modahl, a former Commonwealth Champion in the 800m, blamed the discrepancy in media coverage between men’s and women’s sport for the absence of female athletes on the list.

“Women are always on the back foot when it comes to public profile because the coverage of women’s sport in newspapers and on TV is nowhere as prolific as men’s.

“The public’s views are skewed by what they see and, unfortunately, coverage of women’s sport has to be sought out.

“Football dominates everything in the media, so the odds are stacked against women getting a fair shot. Keri-Anne, Rebecca and the cyclist Victoria Pendleton should be on the list. Why they are not considered worthy I don’t know.”

Jockey Hayley Turner became only the second woman in history to win a Group One race onboard Dream Ahead in the July Cup at Newmarket this year.

She was nominated by the Sunday Times for her achievements but was sanguine about missing out on the final shortlist.

“I honestly don’t think I should have been nominated anyway. I’ve only scratched the surface of what I can do in my sport,” she said.

“I’d like to think that if I do have an unbelievable year in the future I would be considered for the award. Being a woman in a predominantly male sport I get a fair amount of press.

“There are other women like Keri-Anne and Rebecca who have achieved a lot in their respective sports and possibly should have been on the list.”

A public phone vote will decide the winner during the Sports Personality of the Year show to be held at Media City, Salford and broadcast live on BBC One on December 22.

Nominations by MEN sports editor Peter Spencer: James Anderson, Dimitar Berbatov, Glen Chapple, Darren Clarke, Rory McIlroy, Keri-Anne Payne, Paul Scholes, Andrew Strauss, Yaya Toure, Patrick Vieira.

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