From Djokovic winning gold in Paris Olympics to Spain’s Euro triumph, top 10 sporting moments this year – Firstpost

The year 2024 had it all. Moments of joy, heartbreaks and what not! From the 2024 Paris Olympics to the European football championships, there were several tournaments that took place globally this year. This is apart from the annual sports tournaments like all four tennis Grand Slams, the European domestic football season including the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League and more.

With 2024 coming to a close in less than a week, we take a look a the top 10 sporting moments:

Novak Djokovic winning Olympic gold in Paris

Throughout his extraordinary professional tennis career, one thing that eluded Novak Djokovic was gold medal in an Olympics. More than two decades snce turning pro, the Serbian finally had his hands on that elusive gold medal.

Novak Djokovic completed a career Golden Slam by winning the Paris Olympics gold medal. AP

Djokovic, who beat the likes of Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas,
defeated Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) in the final at Roland Garros. Back at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Djokovic had won only a bronze, but this was two better than that. Of course, he has come a long way since then.

Jannik Sinner stands tall

Italy’s Jannik Sinner has had quite the year in 2024, right from becoming the World No 1 to winning the ATP World Tour Finals title. He also clinched two Grand Slams this season in the form of Australian Open and the US Open. It’s also important to note that all this happened for Sinner in a year where he has had to deal with a doping case. The year
2025 could prove to be an even difficult one for Sinner, but what’s most important is the fact that he continues to stand tall, on and off the court.

Spain wins Euro 2024

The Spanish men’s football team
enjoyed an unbeaten run throughout their successful 2024 European Championship campaign that was held in Germany in the summer.

Spain won Euro 2024 after beating England in the final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. AP

One could sense the feeling that La Roja’s glory days are in fact back, and while it might still be early to say that, this Spain team shows promise. Also, this tournament gave birth to a few young and rising stars, most particularly
Lamine Yamal.

Joe Root breaks all-time record

Former England captain Joe Root has enjoyed a remarkable 2024. So much so that he
even broke Sir Alastair Cook’s record to become the top run-scorer for England in Tests. Root went past Cook’s record of 12,472 runs in Tests during a match against Pakistan earlier this year.

Jodie Grinham’s Paralympic medals while being pregnant

Globally, the Paris Paralympics witnessed several moments but one of the standout moments would be
British archer Jodie Grinham winning gold while being pregnant. Grinham was seven months pregnant when she won gold and bronze in mixed team compound and individual compound respectively.

Bayer Leverkusen winning Bundesliga title

Bayer Leverkusen winning the Bundesliga earlier this year was a sight to behold for fans of the club and their manager Xabi Alonso. Leverkusen ended rivals Bayern Munich’s decade-long dominance of the German top division by winning the title with 90 points. More importantly, they did not lose even a single game in their stellar 2023-24 league season.

Armand Duplantis soars to new heights

Nobody seems to have an answer to stop Armand Duplantis. The Swedish pole vaulter, who had won gold at Tokyo Olympics, defended his medal by soaring into a height of 6.25m,
breaking the world record for a record ninth time. He would go on to break that record with an effort of 6.26m at the Silesia Diamond League later in the year.

US basketball team wins gold, again

Dominance is something that the United States basketball team believes in and they truly dominated the Paris Olympics as well.
USA defeated France 98-87 in a rematch of the Tokyo Olympics final to clinch their fifth successive gold medal at the Olympics. In fact, you have to dial all the way back to Munich 1972 when talking about USA’s last defeat in an Olympic gold medal match in men’s basketball.

Simone Biles emerges triumphant in Paris

Only three years ago, American gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental health.

US gymnast Simone Biles poses with the flurry of medals she won at the Paris Olympics. Reuters

Fast forward to 2024 Paris Olympics,
Biles was at her best and put up a splendid performance across events, winning three gold and one silver medal.

Unbeatable Noah Lyles

American sprinter Noah Lyles could be the next big thing in world athletics. He shone in the Paris Olympics,
winning the 100m race in 9.79 seconds, beating Kishane Thompson of Jamaica by 0.005 of a second. Lyles also won a bronze in the 200m race.