It’s been an incredible year in sports, meaning 2024 saw a plethora of iconic images from around the world capturing the biggest moments of the Olympics, the Super Bowl and much more. Check out 10 of the best below:
Bayer Leverkusen won the Bundesliga title for the first time in club history in May, earning its first trophy since 1993. The German team finished with a record of 28-0-6, becoming the first team to win the league title without suffering a loss . Their unbeaten run in all competitions would end at 51 games after defeat by Atalanta of the Italian Serie A in the Europa League final.
Paris hosted the Summer Paralympics for the first time and the event saw China once again finish top of the medal table with a total of 221 medals, including 94 gold medals. Great Britain was next with 49 gold medals and 124 medals in total. The United States finished third with 105 combined medals, including 36 gold medals.
Brazilian Gabriel Medina provided one of the photos from the Paris Olympics with his reaction in the air in the third round of the men’s surfing competition in Teahupo’o, Tahiti. His Olympic record score of 9.90 was the highest in Olympic competition since the sport made its Olympic debut at the 2021 Tokyo Games. Medina would advance to the semifinals and ultimately earn a bronze medal.
Despite this sweeping uppercut, Chris Billam-Smith would defeat Richard Riakporhe by unanimous decision to defend his WBO world cruiserweight title in June. It was sweet revenge for Billam-Smith, who suffered the only loss of his career to Riakporhe via split decision in 2019.
Imane Khelif became Algeria’s first female gold medalist in boxing after beating China’s Liu Yang via unanimous decision to win the women’s 66kg event at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Upon Khelif’s participation in the tournament, accusations were made about her gender. Khelif was disqualified from the 2023 World Championships after the International Boxing Association claimed a test showed she had Paris.
Poland’s Kinga Dróżdż defeated Hungary’s Éva Hajmási 15-12 in the semi-final of the women’s saber category A at the Paralympic Games. She would earn her first Paralympic silver medal after falling to Gu Haiyan in the gold medal bout later that day.
Californian Cole Houshmand finished ninth in May’s SHISEIDO Tahiti Pro competition. The 23-year-old’s run would end in the round of 16 against eventual winner Italo Ferreira of Brazil.
The Boston Celtics lost just four times during the playoffs en route to the franchise’s 18th NBA championship. They defeated the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 in the NBA Finals, with Jayson Tatum leading the way, averaging 25 points, 9.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game.
American Keely Cashman finished 10th in the Women’s super-G in Copper Mountain, Colorado, 1.22 seconds behind the competition winner Lauren Macuga.
Mecole Hardman’s touchdown catch helped the Kansas City Chiefs win their fourth Super Bowl title in February with a 25-22 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers. It was the second overtime in Super Bowl history and the first under the league’s new postseason OT rules.
