What was your most memorable moment of the past sporting year? Was it Luke Littler, the country’s newest sporting sensation, coming heartachingly close to winning the World Darts Championship? Was it seeing Oleksandr Usyk outpoint Tyson Fury in May, or in their rematch in December?
Maybe it’s a rivalry that you’ll remember, like the months of personal taunts between Josh Kerr and Jakob Ingerbrigtsen before the pair raced in one of the best Olympic 1,500-metre finals in history, only for neither to win gold. Or is it history, like watching Keely Hodgkinson become the first person not named Mo Farah to win gold on the track for Team GB since London 2012.
ESPN looks back at the key moments of the past year.
January
In a year that saw more than its fair share of departing sporting legends, 2024 lined up one of its biggest goodbyes almost before it had even begun.
In a shock announcement, Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp said he would call time on his stay at Anfield. It had all gotten too much for him, he said — too many decisions, too many games, too many news conferences, too much of saying “this is too much.”
“It is that I am, how can I say it, running out of energy,” Klopp said.
The German coach who helped restore Liverpool among Europe’s greats would leave by the summer. But first, he would need to steward his final season at the club while diverting attention away from his lingering exit.
There were other goodbyes, too. Jordan Henderson left Saudi Arabia, where he had spent a forgettable few months at Al Ettifaq, to join Ajax.
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The most surprising farewell came from Louis Rees-Zammit, who went one further and quit his sport altogether. He announced that he would chase his dream of making it to the NFL, joining its International Player Pathway (IPP) program. It didn’t quite work out the way he planned — the Kansas City Chiefs later took him onto its practice squad, although he was cut before the season and moved to the Jacksonville Jaguars. But there is still time for him to make his mark in American football.
It wasn’t all about farewells, though. British sport welcomed a new name, Luke Littler, to the fold. At just 17 years old, he enjoyed a thrilling run to the PDC World Darts Championship final, only to be denied by Luke Humphries. In doing so, Littler solidified himself as a household name and one of the country’s most promising sporting stars.
February
Klopp’s announcement was stunning, but there is an argument to say he would have to leave Liverpool one day. By contrast, the move that dominated F1 shocked even more.
It had previously only lived in the realm of fantasy. On Feb. 1, ESPN reported that Lewis Hamilton was not only interested in Ferrari but had agreed to join the Italian giants. He would end his partnership at Mercedes — the most successful in the sport’s history — and instead don the rosso corsa: Ferrari’s “racing red.”
Days later, Ferrari and Hamilton confirmed the story.
“I feel incredibly fortunate, after achieving things with Mercedes that I could only have dreamed of as a kid, that I now have the chance to fulfil another childhood dream. Driving in Ferrari red,” Hamilton said.
First, Hamilton would have to see out his final season with Mercedes. That was a mixed bag. He was made to wait until June for his first podium, which came at the Spanish Grand Prix, but he did notch two wins — first with a memorable drive at Silverstone, and again two races later in Belgium.
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Speaking of new eras in red, Manchester United looked to turn over a new leaf when Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s minority stake was officially ratified, meaning he could begin to enact change at the club. Like Hamilton, results have been mixed at Old Trafford. It would come to be remembered as a trying first year for Ratcliffe and INEOS, summed up best by the fact they gained both a trophy and a new manager. More on that later.
Klopp’s farewell dominated the conversation around the first available major trophy of the season, as Liverpool’s starlets helped the side edge Chelsea in extra-time in the Carabao Cup final.
“What happened here was absolutely insane, these things are not possible,” Klopp said. “The team, a squad, an academy full of character. I am so proud I could be part of that tonight.”
And let’s not forget the Super Bowl. It was another chapter in what is becoming one of American sport’s all-time great dynasties, as Patrick Mahomes and the Taylor Swift-inspired Kansas City Chiefs took the NFL’s grandest prize by taking down the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas.
The game was a dramatic affair. With 16 seconds remaining, the Chiefs found themselves three points down, barely inside the 49ers half and with the ball in their hands. They managed to kick a field goal and send it to overtime. From there, the 49ers marched down the field, only for the Chiefs to force them to kick three points.
Enter Mahomes. The quarterback led one of the best drives of his career and ended it by throwing a short touchdown to Mecole Hardman to start the celebrations.
March
The men’s Six Nations had been rumbling on for weeks, but it was in March that things came to a head. Dublin had been the predictable destination for the title, although few would have predicted how that result ultimately came to be.
There is no doubt that Ireland were the best team in the competition, but Andy Farrell’s side were denied a second straight Grand Slam in a Six Nations classic when they came up against an inspired England. Steve Borthwick’s side delivered the country’s best performance since the 2019 Rugby World Cup, ending with a Marcus Smith drop goal that earned a 24-22 win.
Still, Ireland took the trophy home on St. Patrick’s Day weekend with a hard-fought victory over Scotland, but it was the England clash that lives longest in the memory.
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In the Premier League, the table was being decided on the pitch and, remarkably, off of it. Nottingham Forest were deducted four points for breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR). Weeks later, Everton were handed a similar punishment. They saw two more points chalked off, taking that tally to eight for the season.
Still, it ended well for both clubs, who each managed to secure survival despite their penalties.
April
One of the biggest stories of the year was the unprecedented rise of Caitlin Clark. She had led a transcendent college career, and this year’s March Madness would be where she played out her final chapter before entering the pro ranks. It was almost a goodbye of the sweetest kind: Clark set the all-time NCAA women’s tournament scoring record in the championship game against Dawn Staley‘s South Carolina Gamecocks.
It wasn’t to be for Clark and her Iowa Hawkeyes, though, as they were beaten at the final hurdle for a second straight year. But that wasn’t the end of Clark’s story for 2024. She went on to become the first overall pick in the WNBA and put together arguably the best rookie season in the league’s history.
Clark wasn’t the only woman trailblazing a new path in her sport. England’s women’s rugby side sealed a third consecutive Grand Slam, taking their success to new heights, with star player Ellie Kildunne was later given the Women’s World Player of the Year award.
It sets England up well for next September, when they will host the Women’s Rugby World Cup. If April’s performances were anything to by then they will be frighteningly tough to beat.
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A shoutout, too, for Wrexham. The sequel to their promotion back to the English Football League was meant to be a new challenge, one that would reveal their limits. That wasn’t to be. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney were dutifully celebrating again in April when Wrexham earned their second straight promotion, sending them to the third tier of the English football pyramid. Suddenly, their dream of reaching the Premier League seemed at least a little bit more realistic than fanciful.
May
After months of jibes, postponements and ripped-up fight contracts, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk got into the ring to unify the heavyweight world titles for the first time since Lennox Lewis in 1999. What a thriller it was.
Fury was up to his old tricks. He peppered Usyk with his long arms and awkward style, and he taunted him even when Usyk looked to be winning the fight. However, it ended in a split-decision victory and no doubt they would meet again later in the year.
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More May-time drama came later in the month, as Manchester United battled odds of their own to down rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final. The youthful pair of Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo were the heroes with their first-half goals enough to edge City.
By lifting the FA Cup, United boss Erik ten Hag was able to win favour with the United board and earn himself a contract extension, although that marriage wouldn’t last long.
It wasn’t all bad for City. Pep Guardiola’s side managed to win their sixth Premier League title in seven years, denying Arsenal their first in two decades.
It was time, too, for the partnership between Klopp and Liverpool to finally come to an end. There was a time in the early months of the year that he could have eyed multiple titles on his way out at Anfield, although a late-season dip in form meant the Carabao Cup title would be his final trophy.
May also brought news of Klopp’s successor. Liverpool announced that Feyenoord boss Arne Slot would take over later that summer, a move that now looks like a resounding success.
Klopp wasn’t the only manager saying goodbye after a long, trophy-laden stay. Emma Hayes ended her reign at Chelsea after securing a fifth straight Women’s Super League title. However, her year didn’t stop there: Hayes took over as the United States women’s national team boss and guided them to the Olympic title.
June
If 2014 was the year that solidified Rory McIlroy‘s place as one of the most talented golfers of his generation then, 10 years later, 2024 will be the year that removed any doubt over whether he is one of the sport’s most haunted.
In truth, it was a successful year for the Northern Irishman. He won four trophies – the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, the Wells Fargo Championship, the DP World Tour Championship and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside Shane Lowry.
But the defining image of McIlroy will be his missed opportunity to break his now-10-year major title drought when he collapsed at the final hurdle at Pinehurst in North Carolina. It was all so tough to watch: McIlroy had put together an impressive performance over the first 69 holes of the tournament, only to miss two easy putts and pull his driver on the last, allowing Bryson Dechambeau to win the U.S. Open with a delightful bunker shot on the 18th.
“As I said at the start of the tournament, I feel closer to winning my next major championship than I ever have,” he said days later. “The one word that I would describe my career as is resilient. I’ve shown resilience over and over again in the last 17 years and I will again.”
It wasn’t to come in the Open Championship as he carded rounds of 78-75 at Royal Troon to miss the cut by five shots.
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In football, Real Madrid took centre stage as they travelled to Wembley for yet another Champions League final, this time against Borussia Dortmund. It ended with a 2-0 victory for the Spanish giants after second-half goals by Dani Carvajal and Vinícius Júnior earned Madrid a record-extending 15th European Cup title.
Madrid’s June got even better later in the month, as Kylian Mbappé‘s long-fated move to Los Blancos finally became a reality,
There was history in the NBA too as the Boston Celtics eased their way to the NBA Championship after easing past the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals.
However, the month included a sad note. Rob Burrow, a rugby league legend and powerhouse campaigner, lost his battle with motor neurone disease (MND) aged 41. Burrow, alongside his friend Kevin Sinfield, raised millions for MND charities.
“Rob never accepted that he couldn’t do something, he just found his own way of doing it better than anyone else,” the Burrow family said in a statement at the time.
“He will continue to inspire us all every day. In a world full of adversity, we must dare to dream.”
July
In a summer of sport that saw Jimmy Anderson take his final bow and Wimbledon crown Carlos Alcaraz as a two-time champion, it was on the football pitches of Germany that the country reached a fever pitch. However, for Gareth Southgate and for England, it was an all-familiar story with an all-too-familiar end.
There were high moments, no doubt. Jude Bellingham produced perhaps the moment of the year when, in the dying moments against Slovakia as England faced a humiliating exit, he delivered an overhead-kick equaliser that sent the game into extra time. There was Ollie Watkins‘ 90th-minute winner in the semifinal against the Netherlands that sent England returning to the Euro final. But there were moments of disappointment, too: The nervy 1-1 draw to Denmark, the goalless draw to Slovenia, the nationwide debate over Southgate’s team selections.
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Ultimately, it ended in a late defeat in the final against Spain, which also spelt the end for Southgate as manager.
England weren’t the only home nation at Euro 2024. Scotland were making another appearance at a major tournament under Steve Clarke, but their three group-stage matches provided little joy. They were dealt a 5-1 defeat against Germany in the tournament’s opening game before a draw with Switzerland and a heartbreaking last-minute loss to Hungary put an end to their hopes.
August
For three weeks, Paris basked in the golden glory of the summer Olympics. The first Games since the coronavirus pandemic, the screams and cheers of Olympic arenas provided the backing track for some of the year’s biggest moments.
There are plenty of moments that will linger long in the memory. For the first time since Rio 2016, Team GB tasted victory on the track as Keely Hodgkinson provided three powerful runs in the women’s 800m, the last of which was rewarded with a gold medal.
The Olympics provided weeks of drama: Josh Kerr chasing his fierce rival Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the men’s 1500m, only the pair to gas each other out and be pipped at the line; Tom Pidcock engaging in an enthralling back-and-forth with France’s Victor Koretzky that ended in the Brit defending his Olympic mountain bike title; Adam Peaty bidding for glory in the pool only to be beaten by the narrowest of margins and finish second in the men’s 100m breaststroke.
However, the most dramatic moment of all was delivered by Dan Evans and the retiring Andy Murray. The Scot has been on what felt like a year-long farewell tour. Goodbye to the Australian Open and to Indian Wells, too. He missed the French Open due to an ankle injury, but managed to return in time for Queens, where he re-aggravated a back issue that actually ended his singles career.
His last memories in professional tennis came first at Wimbledon, where he suffered a first-round doubles defeat alongside his brother, Jamie. He then made his way to Roland Garros for the Olympics, resulting in some of his great comebacks in a career full of them.
Murray and Evans were down and out before saving a remarkable five match points in their first-round match. They repeated the feat by saving two more match points in their next game, with their improbable run finally ending against Team USA’s Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul before they had a shot at a medal.
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Team GB ended Paris with 65 medals, equalling their tally from London 2012 and beating their mark from Tokyo 2020.
August wasn’t all about the Olympics, though, as the transfer window brought about its usual bag of surprises. Julián Álvarez left Manchester City for Atlético Madrid in Spain, while Jadon Sancho and Raheem Sterling joined rival Premier League clubs in a frantic deadline-day dash.
September
Maybe you thought Britain’s chances of success at men’s tennis Grand Slams were finished once Murray had hung up his racket. Yet, it was just a matter of weeks after Murray’s final bow that Jack Draper renewed those hopes.
As just 22 years old, Draper enjoyed a miraculous run not dissimilar to that of his compatriot Emma Raducanu in 2021. He had surged through to his maiden Grand Slam semifinal without dropping a set — the first man to do so at the US Open since 2020 — although he saw his dream tournament ended by eventual champion, Jannik Sinner.
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Meanwhile, the Olympics felt as if it never went away when the Paralympics delivered all the same drama and intrigue. For Great Britain, if there was one moment that transcended all others, it was the triumph of archer Jodie Grinham, who became the first pregnant Paralympic athlete to win a medal when she took bronze in women’s individual compound.
“Baby hasn’t stopped kicking,” Grinham said. “It’s almost like baby’s going: ‘What’s going on? It’s really loud, mommy what are you doing?’ But it’s been a lovely reminder of the support bubble I have in my belly.”
October
There are no breaks in the British sporting calendar. By October, the Premier League was back in full swing, and that brought with it the weekly rollercoaster at Manchester United. Erik ten Hag may have earned himself a contract extension in the summer, but it wasn’t to last forever. The club backed him in the summer with additions such as Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt, although it didn’t improve their fortunes.
It was a demoralising start to the season at Old Trafford, where Ten Hag earned just 11 points from nine games before he was sacked. In his place, weeks later, emerged Ruben Amorim, joining from Sporting CP and taking his long-awaited chance at one of England’s biggest clubs. “I can be the Smiling One,” Amorim said, “but when we have a job to do I will be a different person.”
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That wasn’t the only major managerial change. Gareth Southgate had called time on his England career after Euro 2024, and the country’s under-21 boss, Lee Carsley, took interim charge.
There was talk over whether Carsley had earned the right to take over permanently after a couple of promising opening results, but in October the FA turned to German manager Thomas Tuchel as its man to guide England into the 2026 World Cup.
November
After 22 Grand Slam titles, stacks of dramatic moments and countless injuries, Rafael Nadal finally called time on his tennis career. The end came in Malaga, playing for Spain at the Davis Cup in a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to Dutch player Botic van de Zandschulp.
The result on court may not have done justice to Nadal’s career, but the tributes paid to him around that time certainly did. Roger Federer penned a 585-word message to his “old friend.”
“My final match. It meant everything to me that you were there by my side — not as my rival but as my doubles partner,” Federer said. “Sharing the court with you that night, and sharing those tears, will forever be one of the most special moments of my career.”
Nadal was similarly emotional. “I want to be remembered as a good person and a kid who followed their dreams and achieved more than I ever believed possible,” he said.
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In rugby, November staged the annual Autumn Nations Series, bringing heartache for England and yet more misery for Wales. Steve Borthwick’s side had suffered a pair of narrow defeats to the All Blacks in July, meaning New Zealand’s trip to London was an opportunity for retribution.
Instead, it was a case of déjà vu. England succumbed to a 24-22 defeat to the All Blacks in a stunning ending that saw fly-half George Ford miss two drop kicks in the dying moments. Another fine-margin defeat to Australia followed a week later, before a mauling at the hands of the Springboks cemented a disappointing autumn.
Meanwhile, Wales suffered four straight defeats, meaning they ended 2024 without a single win all year. Warren Gatland will keep his job for at least a few more months, though, after the WRU confirmed he will lead the team into the Six Nations in January.
In the U.S., the MLB postseason concluded with the Los Angeles Dodgers being crowned World Series champions after a thrilling series against the New York Yankees.
December
The calendar year was nearly over, but Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk still found time to jump back into the ring for an absorbing rematch as the Brit attempted to avenge his split-decision defeat to the Ukrainian.
What happened in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was very similar to their first encounter: Usyk looked marginally better, although Fury remained most unscathed and rarely troubled. Again, it was down to the judge’s scorecards to decide the champion, this time resulting in a unanimous decision for Usyk that left a bitter taste in the Fury camp.
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The debate over that fight will no doubt rumble on into 2025, as will speculation over what should happen next: Should they fight for a trilogy? Or should Fury finally square up to Anthony Joshua in a must-watch all-British affair?
They are questions for next year.