The sporting year: A round-up of the big moments of 2024

Several huge moments took place in the sporting arena in 2024. Here, we look at the winners - and losers - from a fantastic 12 months in football, boxing, golf, snooker, Formula One and Olympic sports.

Olympics

The summer was lit up by a truly special Games in Paris, city of love and home to some wonderful sporting feats over the course of 17 days in the French capital.

A wash-out of an opening ceremony in the Parisian rain was a false start and no indicator of the entertainment to come. Huge stars such as tennis' Andy Murray - who bowed out in France - and gymnast Simone Biles again enthralled, while Great Britain's Keely Hodgkinson lit up the athletics.

Home hero Leon Marchand stole the show in the pool, with four swimming gold medals - and one bronze - as La Defense became a French stronghold.

China won 91 medals, including 40 gold, to finish second in the medal table behind the U.S. (126). Eight of China's gold medals came in diving while Zheng Qinwen produced a sensational triumph in the women's singles tennis.

Boxer Cindy Ngamba - born in Cameroon and trained in England - won the refugee team's first ever Games medal with middleweight bronze.

Arguably, it was a previously unknown Australian who grabbed the headlines, perhaps for all the wrong reasons. Rachael Gunn aka Raygun came in for huge criticism for her unorthodox performance in breakdancing's maiden Olympics.

Boxing

Zhang Zhilei's brutal fifth-round stoppage of big-hitting Deontay Wilder was one of the year's stand-out moments in the ring.

The Chinese heavyweight, known as "Big Bang", produced a TKO (technical knockout) victory over the American in Saudi Arabia while earlier this month world champion Oleksandr Usyk retained his belts by beating Tyson Fury for a second time.

Daniel Dubois won his all-British clash with former two-time global king Anthony Joshua inside five rounds at Wembley Stadium in September to set his place at heavyweight boxing's top table.

Football

The big crown was claimed by Spain as they downed England 2-1 in the European Championship final in July thanks to goals from Nico Williams and Mikel Oyarzabal either side of Cole Palmer's reply.

England manager Gareth Southgate resigned soon after, leading the Football Association to appoint German Thomas Tuchel as his successor.

Spanish champions Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 to lift the Champions League trophy at Wembley and Manchester City landed a fourth successive Premier League title in England.

Dramatically, City fell off the pace in the first half of the current season and will face a battle to even make the top four, and Champions League qualification, as it stands during 2025 as Liverpool lead the charge for the championship.

Spain Euro winner Rodri, currently out injured with City, won the Ballon d'Or trophy, with compatriot Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona) lifting the women's award.

Barca's young Spain international forward Lamine Yamal, still just 17, emerged during 2024 as one of the game's hottest properties.

Tennis

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner of Italy shared the major men's titles in 2024, winning two each, with Alcaraz triumphing at Wimbledon and the French Open and his rival claiming the US and Australian Opens.

Aryna Sabalenka landed the women's crown in New York and beat China's Zheng Qinwen to add the Melbourne title to her growing collection. Poland's Iga Swiatek won in Paris and Barbora Krecjikova took the honours at Wimbledon.

Sinner became the first Italian to end the year as world No.1 in the rankings and Belarusian Sabalenka goes into the new year on top of the world in the WTA ratings.

Golf

America mopped up a clean sweep of the sport's majors. Xander Schauffele scooped The Open and the USPGA while compatriots Bryson DeChambeau (U.S. Open) and Scottie Scheffler (The Masters) completed the set.

China's Yin Ruoning took her record of wins to five with three more victories on the LPGA Tour in 2024. 

Snooker

Xiao Guodong came close to the success in the sport's Champion of Champions tournament last month, the Chinese star losing out 10-6 to Mark Williams.

China's Lei Peifan won his first ranking event title at the 2024 Scottish Open by defeating Wu Yize 9-5 in the first ever final between two players born in the 21st century.

Kyren Wilson won the world championship in May, defeating Jak Jones 18-14 in the final in Sheffield.

Formula One

Max Verstappen made it four world titles in a row as he held off the challenge of Briton Lando Norris to take the championship with a 63-point margin.

The Dutchman became the first driver to win a title driving for a third-placed team in the constructors' championship since Nelson Piquet in 1983, McLaren taking that title ahead of Ferrari.