As he does at the end of every year, sports editor Hayden Meikle offers an A to Z of random things that caught his eye.
A is for Appendage. Young French athlete Anthony Ammirati was simply going about his business, trying to clear 5.7m in the pole vault at the Paris Olympics. Then ... his ... er ... baguette caught the bar and knocked it off. The video clip went viral, and Ammirati received all sorts of offers to do questionable things for money. He was only slightly overshadowed by the dazzling Armand Duplantis, the Swedish great who soared to Olympic gold.
B is for Biles, Simone. The peerless American gymnast bounced back from her difficult Tokyo experience to win three more Olympic golds in Paris. That is 11 Olympic medals and counting for the greatest gymnast in history.
C is for Celtics. They beat the Mavericks 4-1 in the NBA finals, sealing Boston’s first title since 2008, and 18th overall. Their coach, Joe Mazzulla, is a rather odd and intense man, but Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are the best 1-2 punch in the league.
D is for Deaths. It was a rough year. In just the first 10 days of January, the sports world farewelled Welsh rugby immortal JPR Williams, 74, German football hero Franz Beckenbauer, 76, and Mario Zagallo, 92, the Brazilian who won the Fifa World Cup as both player and manager. Another Welsh rugby great, Barry John. 79, died in February, as did South African cricketer Mike Procter, 77. American sport lost basketballer turned commentator Bill Walton, 71, NBA great and logo inspiration Jerry West, 86, baseball identities Willie Mays, 93, Pete Rose, 83, and Fernando Valenzuela, 63, and basketball block king Dikembe Mutumbo, 58. English cricketer Derek Underwood, 78, died in April, and former English football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, 76, died in August. New Zealand sport mourned cricketers Jack Alabaster, 93, and Billy Ibadulla, 88, racing guru Dave O’Sullivan, 90, former All Blacks Sid Going, 80, and Norm Hewitt, 55, snooker great Dene O’Kane, 61, and athletics all-rounder Marise Chamberlain, 88, and there was immense sadness for the Highlanders when Connor Garden-Bachop, 25, died in June. Finally, a bloke called OJ Simpson, 76, died in April.
E is for Effortlessly cool. Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec launched a thousand memes when he calmly lined up for his pistol event at the Paris Olympics with one hand in his pocket.
F is for Florida Panthers. They won their first Stanley Cup — ice hockey in Florida, makes sense — when they beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in the finals.
G is for Gender. One of the biggest stories of the Paris Olympics was Algerian welterweight boxer Imane Khelif, who won gold. Khelif had been disqualified from the 2023 world championships for allegedly failing gender eligibility tests. The International Olympic Committee has consistently backed Khelif as being an eligible female competitor.
H is for Helium. That may or may not have been inhaled by star Dutch runner Femke Bol, who anchored the Netherlands to victory in the mixed relay at the Paris Olympics then gave an utterly charming interview that showed off her high-pitched voice in all its glory.
I is for Ivory Coast. Normally, that nation is in the sports news for football, but its cricket team stole the limelight last month. They were bowled out for just seven — a team total of SEVEN, the lowest in T20 men’s history — by Nigeria, and lost by a mere 264 runs.
J is for Joke. Sadly, a New Zealand canoeing crew became the laughing stock of the Paris Olympics. The C2 500 lads finished a distant, distant, distant last. They had barely competed in the traditional (kneeling) form of canoeing before the Games.
K is for Kansas City. The NFL’s Chiefs won a second straight Super Bowl when they beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was named MVP.
L is for Luke Littler. The English darts player, who is technically 17 but looks 37, became a sensation when he made it to the final of the world championships.
M is for Mugshot. Scottie Scheffler had a heck of a year. The world’s greatest golfer won seven times on the PGA Tour, added the Olympic gold medal, and earned $US30 million ($NZ53.6m) in prize money. But there was one bizarre moment when he was arrested while trying to get past a crash and to the Valhalla club for the PGA Championship. As usual in the strange country, a mugshot in an orange prison uniform was quickly released.
N is for Nefarious. The scumbag of the year award goes to Canadian football coach Bev Priestman, sent home from the Olympics after her management team were busted for using a drone to spy on the Football Ferns. It later emerged the Canadians — of all people! — had been spying for years.
P is for Precioso, which has a popular meaning of "beautiful" in Spanish. That sums up the career of Rafael Nadal, the king of clay, who retired with 22 grand slam singles titles to his credit. Andy Murray also served his last ace. Only Novak Djokovic is left from the golden era.
Q is for Quotes. And here are three from the sporting year:
"I felt like he needed the hug more than me." — Black Ferns winger Ayesha Leti-I’iga after asking King Charles for a hug.
"That moment — us checking in together — is something I’ll never forget, no matter how old I get, how my memory may fade as I get older or whatever. I will never forget that moment." — Basketball great LeBron James on playing an NBA game with son Bronny,
"Some of you (women) may goon to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world." — Kansas City Chiefs football player and prize jerk Harrison Butker speaks at a university.
R is for Root, Joe. We might prefer Kane Williamson but the English cricketer is a modern marvel.
S is for Stinky Seine. Paris was almost perfect as an Olympic host but its river was ... not so nice.
T is for Tres bien. As mentioned, Paris 2024 was a flat-out sensational Olympics. The city looked stunning, nearly everything ran smoothly, and a couple of Gallic heroes — swim king Leon Marchand and rugby star Antoine Dupont — delighted the crowds.
U is for Underwhelming. There was apparently an America’s Cup, and the much-hyped Scott Robertson era began with four losses for the All Blacks.
V is for Verstappen, Max. Four straight F1 titles for the Red Bull race — but McLaren are coming.
W is for Women. Another big year of progress. No female athlete had more of an impact in 2024 than the amazing Caitlin Clark. The basketballer instantly transformed the WNBA.
X is for X-ecrable, X-cruciating and X-tremely awful. All are perfect fits for the worst sporting moment of the year, when Australian academic Rachael Gunn — known by the infantile "Raygun" name — staged her utterly embarrassing breakdancing routine at the Paris Olympics. Thank the lord the "sport" has already been ditched.
Y is for Yamal, Lamine. The sensational Spanish footballer was still 16 when he scored against France in Euro 2024. That was named goal of the tournament after Spain went on to win a fourth European title.
Z is for Zowsers, that’s a lot of money. Dominican baseballer Juan Soto has signed a 15-year, $US765m contract, the largest in Major League history, with the New York Mets.
