Cricket
Racing
Rugby
Tennis
Football
Combat Sports
Sport Nation
Basketball
League
Motorsport
Golf
Other Sports
Year in Review: Most outstanding international team or athlete
Sport Nation • December 25th, 2024 7:50 am
Photo: AP
With a blockbuster 12 months of sports in the rear-view mirror, what better way to wind up than by reflecting on some of the stellar achievements beyond New Zealand shores.
Logan Swinkels, digital executive producer: Noah Lyles
When you come out and say "I got this", you'd better back it up.
The outspoken American sprinter isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but if you’ve watched Netflix’s Sprint series, you might find yourself still rooting for the guy – that’s what I did come Paris 2024.
His goal was to win the men’s 100m and 200m finals, proving he’s the fastest man in the world in both. Lyles won USA's first men's gold in the Olympics’ marquee track event since Athens 2004, and fought hard for bronze in the 200m, the one he considers his speciality.
I say he "fought hard" because the world found out afterwards he competed in that final while battling Covid. To finish third in the world with your lungs struggling, not to mention the fact he’s dealt with asthma since childhood, is simply incredible.
Alex Chapman, sports broadcaster & Mornings with Ian Smith regular: Kansas City Chiefs
Led by their masterful maestro in Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs made it consecutive Super Bowls with a come from behind victory in the entertainment capital of the world, Las Vegas.
It was hardly a resounding regular season, finishing 11-6, a couple of those defeats leftfield and some of those wins barely convincing, leaving many to question whether their dynasty had ended before it had even really got momentum.
But 'Playoff Patrick' emerged from the gym with broader shoulders and a thicker back, bustling by Buffalo and Baltimore to carry the Chiefs back to the big dance.
Against the 49ers, he fought back at halftime, then marched his side down the field to help level it and force overtime, when he whipped out his jackhammer and chisel to carve his face on the Mount Rushmore of quarterbacks. Mahomes passing, popping, scrambling and finally slicing his, and the Chiefs way, into history.
Mahomes, coach Andy Reid, the apparently distracted Travis Kelce, et al, all reminding everyone they’re far from done, and there are plenty more records to be broken along the way.
Also, for pure entertainment purposes, trying to weave Taylor Swift lyrics into stories brought a childlike joy that Mahomes seems to play with. And let’s be honest, would we really be surprised if they make it a threepeat?
Finn James, The Run Home assistant producer: Team USA basketball
When you think of the pinnacle of international basketball, you instantly jump to the iconic 1992 USA 'Dream Team', featuring the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Karl Malone… the list goes on.
But what if I told you there might be a team that would give them a run for their money? A team that featured the greatest current day NBA players in the world, all coming together for a run in the 2024 Paris Games - in my opinion, the most competitive the Olympic basketball tournament has ever been.
Among a host of legitimate contenders for gold, Team USA had not only one of the best, but also most sporting runs of the entire year with what they produced in Paris.
After strolling through pool play, an easy win in the quarter-finals against Brazil shot them into the semi’s, where they were once again matched up against Serbia, of course led by arguably the best player in the world in Nikola Jokic. Team USA prevailed in one of the most entertaining games of basketball I have ever seen, fighting back from a 17-point deficit to book their ticket in the gold medal match courtesy of Steph Curry's nine three-pointers and LeBron James' triple double, an absolute masterclass by two of the game's greats that will go down in the memories of many.
They somehow ramped up the entertainment factor even further for the showpiece agame against hosts France and the freakish talent of 7ft 5in phenom Victor Wembanyama, completing their undefeated run during one of the most competitive eras of international basketball we have ever seen.
Stephen Foote, digital producer: Simone Biles
Just three years after withdrawing from the Tokyo Olympics after suffering the cruelest of meltdowns on the most public of stages, the American gymnastics prodigy exemplified resilience in returning to reclaim her throne as the world's pre-eminent gymnast.
Taking a hiatus to focus on her mental health after years of elite competition, compounded by a brutal run with injury, Biles soared back into the bright lights with more record-breaking heroics.
Gold in the vault, silver in the beam, all-round gold and team gold - taking her overall tally of Olympic medals to 11, along the way providing a guiding light for women's sports.
Photo: Photosport
Jacob Scott, Afternoons with Staffy executive producer: Kansas City Chiefs
A football dynasty that may surpass the famous Brady-Belichick duo, Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes started the year having won back-to-back super bowls and have continued that form into the 2024/25 NFL season.
They just know how to win. Mahomes’ wide-receiver stocks took a blow with the injuries of 'Hollywood Brown' and Rashee Rice at the beginning of the year. Despite that, they are still the team to beat.
If they are to go on to win Super Bowl lIX in New Orleans they’ll become the first ever back-to-back-to-back three-time champs in American football history.
Reuben Bradley, content manager: Alex Yee
It pains me to write this.
I don’t know who was in charge of scheduling the re-runs in the weeks immediately following the Olympics, but I think they had a sadistic streak. It always seemed to be the event that kept popping up on our screens.
Not since my beloved Newcastle were 10 points clear on Christmas Day in 1995, have I witnessed anything so ruthless, devastating and against the odds.
Yet, we all should have seen it coming.
Alex Yee quietly kept his counsel, remained patient, then changed gear in lethal fashion in the dying stages to break the spirit of our beloved Hayden Wilde and claim triathlete gold with ease.
