2024 was a fine year in terms of sports events. The ongoing sports joke is that even years are better sports-wise than odd ones, and for 2024, that saying fits like a glove. In this article, we’re going to explore the top sports moments from 2024, starting in January and ending in December of 2024. It was a good year for sports fans, and they were more than looking forward to recapping the year in sports 2024. Let’s start in January and move forward chronologically.
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January
2024 started with the Australian Open. The tournament showed that Jannik Sinner is more than ready to dominate the ATP in the coming year, and the same could have been said for Aryna Sabalenka and the WTA. Sinner was good enough in the final to mount a comeback against Daniil Medvedev, and the Italian player hasn’t looked back since that tournament. It was his first Grand Slam title, and a comeback form – to 3-2 is one to be remembered for ages. Sabalenka had a more straightforward job and defended her title in fashion against Qinwen Zheng. If you go to Stake.com and check out the odds for the upcoming 2025 Australian Open, you will see that Sinner and Sabalenka are favorites yet again to win it, with their odds being +120 and +200, respectively.
February
In February, we witnessed a dynasty being born. Kansas City Chiefs won back-to-back Super Bowls after a win against San Francisco 49ers 34-27. The 49ers took them to extra time in what will be remembered as one of the closest NFL season finales. Patrick Mahomes hasn’t been in the league for a decade, but his legacy is already cemented as one of the most clutch QBs to grace the gridiron. This year they are already on a run for a three-peat, which not even Bill Belichick and Tom Brady’s New England Patriots managed to do. While this seems like an impossible task, we wouldn’t bet against Andy Reid, Mahomes, and the Chiefs. If you’re into NFL sports betting, you already know that the Kansas City Chiefs are favorites to take home the Lombardi again. Mahomes will be introduced to the NFL Hall of Fame even before his career ends if this happens.
In the shadow of the 2024 Super Bowl, we had the final of the AFCON, in which Ivory Coast won over the favored Nigerian team. The Super Eagles lost a close contest 2-1, helping Ivory Coast secure their third title and the first taken on home soil after the Egyptian win in 2006.
March
Not only March but the entire 2024 belongs to Caitlin Clark. She led the Iowa Huskies to an NCAA title, breaking the all-time scoring record. She didn’t only become a legend in women’s basketball, but her presence and growth influenced sports worldwide, making her the face of the women’s athletics movements. After completing her college mission, she quickly entered the WNBA, setting various rookie records and proving her worth in a new territory. At the end of December, she was named AP Female Athlete of the Year due to her exploits on the court and her all-around influence on the world of female sports and sports in general.
April
Spring is when the eyes of the world of sports move onto Augusta National. In 2024, from 11-14 April, it was the home to the 2024 Masters Tournament, as we’re already used to. Those who followed it managed to witness the ground-breaking performances of Scottie Scheffler, who won and got his hands on a second Masters title. He won against Ludvig Aberg, who trailed him by four strokes. Aberg was impressive in his Masters debut, and the top five were rounded up by Tommy Fleetwood, Max Homa, and Collin Morikawa. While Masters are fun and everything on their own, we can say that it’s disappointing from a sporting perspective that it is the only sports event in April worth mentioning. Because of that, we moved to May.
May
May was a different beast than its predecessor. The 150th Kentucky Derby was on schedule, and we had the opportunity and pleasure of witnessing Mystik Dan clinch the victory on May 4th. Mystik Dan finished first ahead of Sierra Leone and Forever Young at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. While horse racing is always entertaining, May was the month of football.
We had the pleasure of witnessing the Europa League Final between the undefeated Bayer Leverkusen and Atalanta, which will go down in history. At the Dublin Aviva Stadium, Atalanta took home a dominant 3:0 win over Leverkusen, thanks to a stellar Ademola Lookman performance. Bayer had to go home knowing that they did their best, with an ideal consolation prize of winning the Bundesliga in unforgettable fashion—they went undefeated.
June
June was a history month for the NBA and the Boston Celtics. The Boston franchise won its 18th NBA title, making it the team with the most titles to its name. The two names that will forever be on the lips of Celtics fans are Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who were the top performers for the Greens.
Further south, in Florida, the Panthers secured their first-ever Stanley Cup. In a 7-game thriller, they were the better team between them and the Edmonton Oilers. Hockey is far from being the most popular sport in the ever-hot Florida, and the Panthers finally managed to put it on the map, eclipsing the Marlins, Rays, Dolphins, and Heat for the year.
In Europe, on June 1st, we had yet another Champions League final, this time won by Real Madrid against Borussia Dortmund 2-0. By now, fans of football all over the world are more than happy to see RM lift this trophy as they keep to their record of winning Champions Leagues.
July
Hot summer and another record-breaking month in sports. Mark Cavendish was named on everyone’s lips in July. Why? Well, he managed to enter the history books of cycling. He finally broke the record of the number of stage wins held for too long by Eddy Merckx as he took home his 35th. He’s one of the sport’s most precious athletes, and after this record, rarely can anyone argue otherwise. While Tour France is a monumental sporting event, the center stage in July was reserved for the world’s most popular sport – football.
The UEFA 2024 Euro final was a dramatic contest between England and Spain. The Mediterranean nation took home yet another Euro, cementing its legacy as one of Europe’s top football nations. On the other hand, England was handed yet another disappointment by the Three Lions, and the wait for a Euro trophy continued.
While both events were at the center stage during sports in July, no one should forget the Wimbledon final, which saw Carlos Alcaraz defeat Novak Djokovic in dominant fashion for his second title at this Grand Slam and fourth overall.
August
August was the month reserved for the Olympic Games in Paris. It is a one-of-a-kind event that will be remembered by many athletes and national teams competing. Still, everyone will remember Simone Biles for decades, who became the most decorated Olympic athlete in US history. Furthermore, Noah Lyles must be mentioned as the men’s 100m finals winner, and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone set a new 400m hurdles record. The USMNT in basketball won yet another gold after defeating France in the final, while everyone can argue that the final was played the game before against Serbia, which was the most dramatic match in the entire tournament.
While not favored by online sports betting outlets to win Olympic gold, Novak Djokovic won against Carlos Alcaraz to win the only remaining trophy he lacked in his tennis career, cementing his legacy as one of the best, if not the best.
September
History was written in August when Coco Gauff was named the world’s best-paid female athlete. She proves this on the court game in and game out, and fans are more than eager to see her perform at the upcoming Australian Open. Despite being female, Coco is one of the most marketable athletes in the world, marking a new era for females in sports. It is a future we’re looking forward to wholeheartedly.
In other news, another win for female sports happened as the Pro Women’s Hockey League was introduced. This is truly a historic moment as hockey is one of the more popular sports in the world and is not represented by female athletes whatsoever. While not monumental in terms of importance, it was in September that the new season of the NFL and the Champions League started. The latter introduced a new format that is still being judged by fans and experts alike.
October
While an ordinary month by every standard, we will call it the Ohtani-October from now on. The Los Angeles Dodgers managed to clinch the World Series after defeating the New York Yankees. It only took them five games to achieve this feat, thanks to the 12 RBls by Freddie Freeman. The Dodgers were impressive through the entire postseason, and it proved to be a good decision to break the bank for Shohei Ohtani, who became the first player in the history of MLB to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season. This was enough to earn him the National League MVP reward, proving once again that we’re witnessing a transcendental talent in the sports and one that earned every penny of his record-breaking deal signed in the previous offseason.
In the WNBA, the New York Liberty won the WNBA Championship, giving homework to the New York Knicks. After defeating the Minnesota Lynx in a WNBA series, the fans had never had the chance to witness before in terms of drama and excitement.
November
The eleventh month of 2024 took a direction toward entertainment and was a wise decision. Netflix decided to enter the domain of sports streaming, and they hit the jackpot with the decision to stream the bout between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson. The event was held on November 15. Held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It attracted more than 108 million live viewers from all over the world. It was an anonymous win by the young gun, but it also proved that the Iron Mike still had some fuel left in the tank. After the success of this event, Netflix also entered the waters of the NFL and took upon streaming some Christmas Games later in the year.
In the world’s fastest caravan, Max Verstappen took home yet another F1 title, cementing his legacy as one of the top drivers in F1 history. His team finished the constructor’s race as the third wheel, and he won the title, making him the first driver to do so since 1983.
December
There are not too many sporting events this late in the year worth mentioning. Yet, the University of Colorado WR Travis Hunter entered the record books during this timeframe. He won the Heisman Trophy by doing it while being a two-way player. No one did this in the last few decades, making the feat even more impressive. While what he did at the college level is remarkable, he also gives the NFL executives a headache. The WR standout had an exceptional year at the cornerback position, making him a unicorn in both college and the NFL, thus creating issues about his draft status, but that’s a worry we’ll have in a few months.
The year was wrapped up with ceremonies, and Vinicius Jr. won the FIFA World Player of the Year 2024 despite losing the race for the Ballon d’Or to Rodri.
2024 was a fun year in retrospect, with plenty of events shaping it. We can only hope that 2025 will bring us the same amount of fun and excitement. The way it started with the NFL playoffs and the Premier League title race, we can say that it has promise.