2024 has proven to be a year of shocking upsets and legendary moments throughout the sports world. Whether it was the Paris Olympics, the Euros, or the Super Bowl, this past year has had no shortage of excitement and drama. Let’s take a look back at 2024’s iconic sports moments.
January
In January, the tennis world was treated to the Australian Open. For men’s singles, the Italian Jannik Sinner won his first grand slam when he defeated Daniil Medvedev in the finals. In women’s singles, Aryna Sabalenka defeated Qinwen Zheng in the finals. The NFL playoffs also occurred in January, with the 49ers coming out of the NFC and the Chiefs beating out the rest of the AFC as the two prepared to square off in Super Bowl LVIII.
February
`In Super Bowl LVIII, the two powerhouses were the San Francisco 49ers (12-5) and the Kansas City Chiefs (11-6). The 49ers were led by stars like Christian McCaffrey and Nick Bosa while the Chiefs were powered by Patrick Mahomes and Chris Jones. This Super Bowl was close, but in the end, Patrick Mahomes took home his third Super Bowl for the Chiefs. The final score was 25-22. The NBA All-Star game was also in February. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the East past Lebron James and the West in a high scoring affair (211-186).
March
With March came March Madness, the annual NCAA Division 1 basketball tournament. For the men’s bracket, it was Coach Dan Hurley and the first-seeded UConn Huskies that came out on top, beating the first-seeded Purdue Boilermakers led by Zach Edey. With this win, UConn became just the eighth school in NCAA Division 1 history to win back-to-back national championships, and the first to do so in seventeen years. In the women’s bracket, despite Caitlin Clark’s record breaking tournament, the Iowa Hawkeyes fell to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Championship. This was a major accomplishment for Coach Dawn Staley, one of the greatest NCAA Division 1 women’s basketball coaches.
April
With the turn of the season came The Masters, arguably the most prestigious tournament in golf. Scottie Scheffler won, giving him his second Masters victory in the last three years. The NFL draft also occurred in April with the Chicago Bears drafting quarterback Caleb Williams from the University of Southern California. Williams, the consensus number-one pick, was heralded as the player needed for the Bears to turn their franchise around.
May
May saw the NBA playoffs heat up as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves to win the Western Conference Finals, while the Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers to advance in the Eastern Conference, setting up an interesting showdown between Luca Doncic and the Mavericks and Jayson Tatum and the Celtics in the finals. In the UEFA Champions League, Dortmund stunned Paris Saint-Germain to advance to the final, while Real Madrid defeated Bayern to set up a promising showdown with Dortmund in the final. In golf, the PGA Championship took place, with Xander Schauffele winning his first major tournament.
June
June was packed with championships and endings to many great seasons. Real Madrid defeated Dortmund 2-0 in the London UEFA final, with Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham leading the powerhouse club. The Celtics bested the Mavericks in the NBA finals series 4-1. Jalen Brown was finals MVP and Jayson Tatum won his first NBA finals at 26 years old. In the NHL, the Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in game seven giving the franchise their first Stanley Cup. Bryson Dechambeau won his second U.S. Open on the PGA Tour. The French Open took place in June for tennis. The men’s single winner was the favorite Carlos Alcatraz who won his first ever French Open. On the women’s side, it was Iga Swiatek who came out on top. She was also the favorite to win the tournament.
July
In July’s soccer action, the European Championship and the Copa America both concluded in historic fashions. In the Euros, Spain, headed by Rodri, beat England in the finals winning the country’s fourth European Championship. A key reason Spain won was young sensation Lamine Yamal who made history becoming the youngest person to score in the Euros at age 16. In the Copa America, Argentina beat Colombia in the finals. With this win, Argentina won back-to-back Copa Americas. This victory was special for Lionel Messi who might have played his last international tournament for Argentina. Wimbledon was also historic in the tennis world as rising star Carlos Alcatraz beat Novak Djokovic, arguably the greatest of all time, in the finals. On the women’s side, Barbora Krejčíková trumped Jasmine Paolini in the finals.
August
Sports in August was defined by one event: the Olympics. This year’s Paris Summer Olympics was filled with exciting wins and upsets. Starting in basketball, Lebron James led Team U.S.A. to its fifth gold medal. And, in the women’s tournament, Team U.S.A. was led by A’ja Wilson. The team won the country its eighth straight gold medal. In swimming, Leon Marchand earned France all of their four swimming golds, putting the country first in gold medals on the men’s side. Marchand became the fourth swimmer to win two gold medals in the same day, an accomplishment that not even the legendary Michael Phelps could accomplish. The Australians came out on top on the women’s side with Kaylee McKeown winning two of their six gold medals. Although the United States’ women did not come out on top, Katie Ledecky won two gold medals making the swimmer the most decorated American women athlete in Olympic history with 14 medals. In track and field, the U.S.A. won the most gold medals on the men’s side with seven total. One of those gold medals came from track star Noah Lyles who won an extremely close race in the men’s 100-meter sprint. The United States’ women’s track and field team also came out on top in the sport’s events with seven gold medals. In the women’s Artistic Gymnastics event, Team U.S.A. earned 3 gold medals with the women winning the Team All Around and two more medals from Simone Biles who won the All Around and Vault events. Biles, who left the 2020 Olympics due to mental issues, inspired many as she returned to win two gold medals. In men’s gymnastics, Japan came out on top winning three gold medals. In the end, Team U.S.A. and the People’s Republic of China tied with forty gold medals, but the U.S. dominated the total medal count with 126 total medals.
September
September brought the start to the NFL season. In week one, the Eagles and Packers faced off in the first-ever NFL game played in Brazil. The Eagles defeated the Packers and started the season 1-0. Meanwhile, the U.S. Open was played, with Jannik Sinner winning on the men’s side and. Aryna Sabalenka won on the women’s side. In college football, the rankings began to take shape with teams like Texas, Oregon and Georgia ranking in the top ten.
October
The MLB postseason kicked off and the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees came out of their leagues to face each other in the fall classic. The Dodgers beat the Yankees in the series 4-1 with finals MVP Freddie Freeman recording four home runs, including a walk-off home run in game 1. The NBA also began with the defending champions (Boston Celtics) hosting the Knicks. In the end, the Celtics dominated the Knicks 132-109. The second game of the night was the Minnesota Timberwolves and Anthony Edwards visiting Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. This game ended with the Lakers defeating the Timberwolves 110-103.
November
The headline of November’s sports action was the Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson fight. Tyson, regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time, and Jake Paul, a social media influencer, created a matchup nobody expected. In the end, Paul won by decision. Many people argue that this win means little to the 27-year-old Jake Paul’s legacy as a boxer, as Mike Tyson is 58 years old. In UFC 309, the iconic Jon Jones became the ‘Heavyweight Champion of the World’ by defeating Stipe Miocic in round three by a technical knockout. Many want Jones to fight number one contender Tom Aspinal in what would be a generational fight. Aspinal has the chance to be the person that finally beats Jones who has only lost once due to a disqualification. In college football, there were many rivalry matchups in the last week of the regular season. Michigan vs Ohio State was one of them. The matchup is one of the most competitive rivalries in college sports. And, despite Michigan’s poor start to the season, the Wolverines upset the second-seeded Ohio State, beating them by a score of 13-10. This took Ohio State out of the Big Ten championship, and they have lost to Michigan three years in a row.
December
In December, college football will come to an end with 12 teams making the College Football Playoffs and some teams playing in bowl games. It will be interesting to see teams from different conferences battle it out to keep their season alive. The Heisman (college football MVP) race is also coming to an end with Travis Hunter being the clear front-runner and Ashton Jeanty as the number two candidate. The finals seasons of the NFL also occur in December as teams will battle for a playoff spot.
