TRANSCRIPT
Any discussion of 2024 in sport has to start with the Paris Olympic Games - a success that helped re-attach Australians to the Olympics, a passion that had waned somewhat in recent years, as the Games try to find their place in a reshaped professional sporting world.
Australia finished fourth on the medal tally with eighteen golds, nineteen silvers, and sixteen bronzes.
It was the country's most successful Olympics ever.
Australia's female athletes led the way.
Swimmer Emma McKeon picked up a gold, a silver, and a bronze medal to become Australia's most decorated Olympian ever, with fourteen medals.
Whilst the Fox sisters made the nation proud in the canoeing.
Noemie and Jessica Fox both won gold... the latter medalling in a fourth consecutive Olympics.
Now one of the most popular sportspeople in the country, Jessica Fox says so much support a long way from home played a big role in her triumph.
“I think hugging mum, hugging my sister, and dad....and then also, the podium was extremely special. Seeing so many Aussies in the crowd was unbelievable. I had some family and friends there. But then there were so many others, there was such a big Aussie contingent. And they were so loud, and it was amazing. They were singing the anthem. They did some Aussie Aussie, oi, oi, oi. And it was just the most special day”
Australian Paralympians also did the country proud... bringing home 63 medals, including eighteen gold.
It was a big year in the world game, with Spain winning the European Championship, world champions Argentina taking out the Copa America, and the Ivory Coast winning the African Cup of Nations at senior men's level.
At club level, it was a familiar story.
Real Madrid took out their sixth European Champions League title in eleven years.
Their star Brazilian, Vinicius Junior, won FIFA's Best Men's Player Award.
He says he wants his win to be an inspiration for those who, like him, have come from humble beginnings.
“Truly, I am very happy. This is a dream come true. To come from a very poor place in Brazil and to get here is something improbable, but not impossible. And I’m here today for all the kids who dream big and so they know they can get here. And I’m going to continue to fight so that we can keep doing more big things for soccer.”
In the women's game, the United States rose again after a poor performance at the 2023 World Cp.
New coach Emma Hayes took them to an Olympic Gold medal in Paris - the Olympics in women's football being an open-age event, unlike the men's, and, thus, almost another World Cup.
But world champions Spain continue to be at the forefront of women's football- Barcelona star Aitana Bonmati won the FIFA award for best women's player... the fourth year in a row a Spanish women has won such an award.
Her Barcelona side took out the women's European Champions League.
In local football, the Central Coast Mariners won the A-League men's, and Sydney FC the women's.
It was a year of change for both the Socceroos and the Matildas.
The Socceroos bowing out in the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup...and, after some lacklustre World Cup qualifying performance, coach Graham Arnold called it quits after six years in charge.
His former Socceroos team mate, Tony Popovic, took over mid-campaign, making big promises.
“We need to make sure that every player understands that honour is number one- to wear the shirt, and wear it with pride, and represent your country and your family, and I'll make sure that that is the first part that is instilled with this group. And the second part is that we play better than the Socceroos have ever played. That's the second part of the challenge. So, you've got to link the two. And, if we link the two, we, really, with those values, can do something special.”
Popovic's job in 2025 will be to safely steer the side to the 2026 World Cup in north America.
2024 was always going to be a bit of a letdown for the Matildas after the heights of 2023.
Coach Tony Gustavsson departed after a disappointing Olympics campaign... and the search is still on for his permanent successor, as Australia prepares to hosts the 2026 Asian Cup.
In cricket, it was a big year for India, even before the massive Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour of Australia.
India won the men's Twenty20 World Cup in North America, which concluded with a dramatic against-the-odds victory over South Africa in the final.
At the women's Twenty20 World Cup in the Middle east, Australia's all-conquering side were dethroned.... upset in the semi-finals by South Africa, who went on to be beaten in the final by New Zealand.
In Formula One, Aussie Oscar Piastri truly announced his arrival on the world stage in 2024, winning the Hungarian and Azerbaijan Grand prix- his first career race wins.
He finished fourth overall in the driver's standings which were again topped by Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.
The Dutchman held off Piastri’s team mate, Lando Norris, to win his fourth straight drivers championship.
His dominance sparks questions about how competitive Formula one really is.
But the man himself says things may be closer in coming years.
“But yeah, It's amazing, four titles is definitely incredible. Of course, I also hope it doesn't stop here. I hope we can be successful for a longer period of time, but, yeah. You can see this year, the competition was very close and but then again 2026, a lot is going to change and yeah, maybe some other teams are going to be competitive again but, for the moment I think it's just very important that to enjoy the moment, be proud of what we have achieved also as a team and then go try again next year.”
A changing of the guard in men's tennis in 2024.
It was the first year since 2002 than none of the so-called big three- Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, or Roger Federer- won a Grand Slam tournament.
The new stars- Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, winning two majors each- and Sinner won the year-ended ATP Finals tournament, and was part of the Italian team that won the Davis Cup, too.
In the women's game- Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus ended the year as world number one after taking out the Australian open and US Open crowns, although it was American Coco Gauff who won the year-ended WTA Championship, which as controversially held in Saudi Arabia.
And, in the sports that dominate winter weekends in Australia... there was one familiar story...and one particularly happy ending.
In the National Rugby League, the Penrith Panthers became the first side since the 1960s to win four premierships in a row, beating fellow powerhouse, the Melbourne Storm, in the Grand Final.
Co-captain Nathan Cleary says it was particularly satisfying to beat the Storm, after the Storm beat the Panthers in the 2020 Grand Final.
“Looking around and seeing four rings...honestly crazy. I think it was five years ago or four years ago that we were out there, we were the ones crying, losing to that same team, the benchmark for so long. And hen to go four taught- it's honestly unbelievable ,and such a great feeling.”
New South Wales beat Queensland in the State of Origin series... but new coach Michael Maguire was a one-and-done, taking off after the triumph to coach the Brisbane Broncos in club play.
The Blues appointing Laurie Daley, a previous coach of theirs, to replace him for next year's series.
In the AFL, the Brisbane Lions broke through for their first premiership since 2003, trashing the Sydney Swans in the Grand Final.
It came twelve months after they narrowly lost to Collingwood in the 2023 Grand Final, and it gave their coach, Chris Fagan, one of the game's most-beloved figures, his first premiership as a head coach.
Fagan takes a typically philosophical approach to his triumph.
“I know we've played finals the last six years, but last year was probably the first time i genuinely thought we had a chance to win it. I thought we were a developing team up until then, lats year was a big disappointment for us, but a day we were still proud of and that we learnt learnt plenty from. That’s' how we've always approached things- keep trying to learn, keep trying to get better. And today, they found out that if you do that, things can sometimes come your way, So, a good lesson in life for everyone, I think.”
Sport always around to teach plenty of lessons in 2024- and 2025 shapes up similarly.
