Let’s leave this sports stuff behind in 2024
As the new year approaches, USAT reporters have their own sports concerns they’d like to leave behind in 2024.
Sports seriously
This year brought us many unforgettable sporting moments.
We’ve seen Iowa State basketball star Caitlin Clark become the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer among women and men. We saw Olympic gymnast Simone Biles reclaim her crown at the Paris Games and watched the Los Angeles Dodgers’ newest star, Shohei Ohtani, create a league of his own after amassing 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. (More on that later.)
As we count down to the final days of 2024, it’s time to reflect on the athletes who have brought joy to fans with their superhuman displays of athleticism and incredible performances.
Here are five athletes who defined the year, in no particular order:
Winners and losers in 2024: Caitlin Clark, Paris Olympics, Aaron Rodgers
Caitlin Clark
What hasn’t Clark done in 2024? All eyes were on the Iowa star as she chased and surpassed Pete Maravich’s record to become the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer, male or female. Clark drove Hockey To their second straight national championship game, and despite the Hawkeyes losing to South Carolina Gamecocksits collective legacy is already cemented. She left Iowa with the most career points (3,951) and career 3-pointers made (548), and it was no surprise that Clark was drafted by the Indiana Fever with the No. 1 overall pick. Clark went on to win Rookie of the Year honors, averaging 19.2 points, 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game. She led the Fever to their best record (20-20) and their first playoff appearance since 2016.
Caitlin Clark He was named “Athlete of the Year” for 2024 by Time magazine.
Simone Biles
Biles didn’t have to compete in the Paris Olympics this summer to cement her status as the GOAT. But after unexpectedly withdrawing from several events at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics after anxiety caused “sprains,” Biles returned to the Olympic stage in dominant fashion, earning three gold medals (team, all-around, vault) and a silver medal. (floor), bringing her total Olympic medal tally to 11. Most importantly, Biles continued to highlight the importance of mental health, a discussion she helped destigmatize three years ago. Biles shared her Paris journey in the Netflix documentary series “Simone Biles: Rising,” offering fans a vulnerable and raw look at the mental and physical labor she underwent. It was fun to watch Biles having fun and her GOAT necklace was as epic as her year was.
Shuhei Otani
Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December 2023, and it’s safe to say his first season with the Dodgers had a storybook ending. Ohtani became the first member of the 50-homer, 50-steal club on September 19, when he hit his 49th, 50th and 51st home runs of the season in the Dodgers’ 20-4 win over the Miami Marlins. He finished the season with a .310 batting average, 54 home runs, 130 RBIs, a league-leading 134 runs and 59 stolen bases. Ohtani made his postseason debut and went on to win his first World Series championship as the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in five games. He received his third MVP award as a cherry on top. Ohtani’s whirlwind year may be behind him we In awe, but his pet dog Decoy doesn’t seem to be that impressed.
Scotty Scheffler
Simply put, Scheffler has nailed the tournament in 2024. The American golfer has won seven PGA Tour titles this year, including a win at the 2024 Masters, marking his second win at Augusta National Golf Club in three years. His arrest by Louisville police at the 2024 PGA Championship made headlines, but he didn’t let it derail his year. Scheffler rebounded by picking up another piece of hardware in Paris — Olympic gold medal. He was named the 2024 PGA Player of the Year for the third year in a row, becoming the first golfer to do so since Tiger Woods (2005-2007). To top it all off, Scheffler welcomed a boy in May.
Yannick Siner
The Italian tennis star started the year well with his first major win at the 2024 Australian Open after falling two sets down to Daniil Medvedev. He claimed his second major at the 2024 US Open, another hard court surface. Sinner is only the fourth player since 1988 to achieve the hard-court double, joining Mats Wilander (1988); Roger Federer (2004, 2006, 2007); and Novak Djokovic (2011, 2015, 2023). It was not clear how Sinner would perform at the US Open after he parted ways with his fitness coach and physiotherapist before the tournament after his involvement in a doping case made headlines. (The ITA determined that Sinner’s ingestion of the anabolic steroid Clostebol “was not intentional.”) Sinner finished the year with a win at the ATP Finals and a No. 1 world ranking.
Honorable mentions
- Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie FreemanThe walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series against the New York Yankees is arguably the best sports moment of 2024. Freeman went on to homer in Game 2, Game 3 and Game 4 of the World Series and was named the tournament’s MVP. World Series MVP.
- American swimmer Katie Ledecky She won two gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the women’s 1,500 and 800 meter freestyle, along with a bronze in the 400 meter freestyle and a silver in the women’s 4×200 meter freestyle relay. With a total of 14 medals, Ledecky is the most decorated American woman at the Olympic Games in any sport and the most decorated woman in swimming ever.
- American track star Noah Lyles He did exactly what he set out to do at the 2024 Paris Olympics: win gold in the 100-meter dash. Although he was unable to complete the coveted sprint double after contracting Covid-19, Lyles walked away with an Olympic bronze medal in the 200 metres.
- Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum He won an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal in the same year; Only seven other players have accomplished this feat, including a few of his teammates – Michael Jordan (1992); Scottie Pippen (1992, 1996); LeBron James (2012); Kyrie Irving (2016); Puppy Holiday (2021, 2024); Kris Middleton (2021); and Derek White (2024).
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