Here are our top five highlights from 2024:
EURO 2024
With the previous European Championships being affected by COVID and thus having fewer fans in stadiums, this summer’s edition in Germany provided a welcome return to the norm.
As a result, the atmosphere proved to be amazing throughout, as supporters went full throttle to support their countries.
On the pitch, the standard may not have been top-drawer, with several of the world’s best players seemingly reeling after a long and relentless season. But there was still more than enough quality and excitement to keep fans riveted.
Underdog nations Georgia and Turkey were two of the teams of the tournament. The former stunned Portugal in the group stage, before being knocked out by Spain in a thrilling round of 16 clash.
Turkey were involved in multiple games of the tournaments against Georgia and Austria, but were eventually defeated in the quarter-finals at the hands of the Netherlands.
But champions Spain were comfortably miles above the rest. Winning every single game, the Spanish played a thrilling brand of football; a mix between tika-taka and a more direct style of play.
Wonderkid Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, Fabian Ruiz, Rodri and Dani Olmo were all a handful of stars that stood out, and were worthy winners after beating England 2-1 in the final.
Tolga Akdeniz
Rugby sevens at the Olympics
Rugby, in the form of sevens, has been a part of the Olympic program since 2016. For fans of the sport, the sevens circuit has been a well-known if lesser-followed part of the rugby union calendar for a lot longer, however. It’s always been there and been fun and full of flair but sevens often lacked a bit of exposure and star power.
Entering the Olympics has given sevens both of the aforementioned qualities. Not only because the Olympics has pumped rugby into the spotlight in many more markets but also because it has become an appealing option for superstars of the 15-aside game to dip into.
There is arguably no bigger star in rugby right now than France’s Antoine Dupont - captain of the French men’s 15-aside team and former World Rugby player of the year. His bold decision to skip the Six Nations and join the sevens circuit for most of the 2023/24 season in an effort to make the Olympic team paid off in more ways than one.
Not only did Dupont make the host nation’s side for the Paris Games, he starred for France as they went on to win the men’s gold, thrashing twice gold medalists Fiji in an epic ending to the event.
On the women’s side, new stars of the sport such as Ilona Maher were thrust into the limelight as both the USA (bronze) and Canada (silver) snapped up surprise medals behind New Zealand (gold). All in all, rugby sevens at the Paris Games was everything the sport could have wished it to be - fun, thrilling and the perfect advertisement for one of the world’s fastest-growing games.
Pat Dempsey
Tadej Pogacar's historic triple crown
For many, it was a feat that seemed out-of-reach in modern professional cycling. But in 2024, Tadej Pogacar made history by becoming the first man since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France in the same year.
The Slovenian set his stall out earlier in the season by committing to the challenge and it could not have gone more perfect. He won the second stage and never relinquished the Maglia Rosa (pink jersey) until the race finished in Rome. His time to second-placed Dani Martinez was nearly 10 minutes. It was a massacre, the biggest margin of victory since 1965.
At the Tour, he faced off against sterner competition in Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel. Both had sustained heavy injuries early in the year and despite more race days in his legs, Pogacar was again imperious, wearing yellow for all but two days of the three-week race.
But, he put his name into cycling folklore in September at the World Championships, launching an insane 100km attack solo and despite the field all chasing him on a hilly course, he held on to win the rainbow jersey. It completed the fabled triple crown, the first one since 1987.
This was the year of Tadej, cementing his mythical status in the sport at the age of 25.
Josh Donaldson
The meteoric rise of Luke Littler
In the space of just 12 months, Luke Littler has transformed the world of darts, with the 17-year-old enjoying a truly remarkable debut season on the professional tour.
The generational talent has risen from relative obscurity to global stardom in 2024, winning 10 titles including the Grand Slam of Darts, World Series and the prestigious Premier League.
It all started at the PDC World Championship in January as the then-164th-ranked Littler stunned former champions Raymond van Barneveld and Rob Cross en route to the final, where he eventually lost to world number one Luke Humphries.
That defeat - watched by a peak TV audience of 3.7 million - did little to stem Littler’s momentum though, with ‘The Nuke’ mixing kebabs and computer games with consistent world-class performances to soar up the rankings.
Having earned his spot in the elite Premier League competition, Littler starred across the 17 nights with a devastating combination of ruthless scoring and box-office finishing.
He continued his electric form in the final, dispatching Humphries 11-7 with a nine-dart finish to boot, exacting the perfect revenge for his World Championship defeat.
It was a memorable moment for the teenager, and the first of many in what promises to be a very special, trophy-laden career.
Danny Clark
Shohei Ohtani greatness
Ask any baseball lover and they will tell you that this was the “Year of Ohtani”, or 大谷年 for the Japanese speakers.
Whether it was being the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season or cementing himself in what some would consider the single greatest season by a player ever after leading the Dodgers to a World Series, Ohtani’s story is arguably at the very top of the pyramid among all others this year.
He won the NL MVP by unanimous decision, which now marks his third in four years, and was first in All-Star votes for NL players. He also won a Silver Slugger award after leading the NL with the best on-base percentage (.390), slugging percentage (.640), OPS (1.036), home runs (54), RBI (130), runs (134), total bases (411), and WAR (9.4).
He's also the first designated hitter in MLB history to win MVP. His 50th home run ball sold for over four million dollars at auction and caused a bunch of lawsuits with fans suing each other for “rights to the ball”.
And, during the game he broke 50 home runs, he went six for six hitting, with two doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI, two stolen bases and 17 total bases - a performance some may also consider the greatest ever by a player in a single game.
Ohtani being the greatest player ever talks now have a lot more meaning to them after his performance during the 2024 season. And, with him slated to return to pitching next year, one can only begin to imagine what he will accomplish.
Eric Himmelheber