The best of sports in 2022!
In 2020 and 2021, the entire world of sports was affected because of the deadly Covid-19 virus outbreak, so many sporting events were cancelled or postponed.
All of that is a thing of the past as everything has returned to normal. We witnessed quite a several sporting events across various sports in 2022; we saw records broken, new champions crowned, and some legendary sportsmen and sportswomen leaving their various sports.
Here are some of the most memorable sports events that we witnessed in 2022
1. The Qatar World Cup
The Qatar World Cup was the first of its kind as it was the first-ever World Cup hosted in the Middle East. It came with a lot of drama as there were human rights issues before the tournament began. The timing of the World Cup was another controversial issue because it was held in November and December, which means it clashed with the regular club football calendar.
A few days before the tournament commenced, alcohol was banned in all stadiums so fans had to watch the games sober. Amidst all these controversies, Qatar went ahead to host one of the best World cup tournaments.
Argentina has eventually crowned champions with Lionel Messi as their captain. French player Kylian Mbappe put on an unbelievable show at the tournament.
2. A Nigerian Athlete Became A World Record Holder
It’s not every day that you hear that an African athlete breaking a world record. In 2022, Nigerian athlete Tobi Amusan became the World, Commonwealth, and African champion in the 100m hurdles.
She also broke a 7-year record to become the fastest female 100m hurdles sprinter in history. She was awarded a national honour by the President of Nigeria and she was named the best female athlete in Africa in 2022 by the Confederation of African Athletics.
3. Serena Williams And Roger Federer Retired From Tennis
Serena announced her decision in Vogue magazine’s September edition. She highlighted that she wanted to pay attention to her new family and her investment company Serena Ventures. She played her last game in the third round of the U.S. Open in September where she faced Ajla Tomljanovic. She won 23 grand slam titles during the span of her successful career.
Roger Federer also decided to walk away from the sport this year. He is one of the most successful male tennis players in history with 20 grand slam titles just behind Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. He battled a couple of injuries in the last couple of years and ultimately decided to leave while the ovation was loud and clear. His final appearance on the court was rather emotional, with tears flowing from all corners from his colleagues and fans while he gave his final speech.
4. England Won Her First Major Trophy In 55 years
Football finally came home for England as the female national team “The Lionesses” went on to win the UEFA Women’s Euro2022, also hosted in England. The year before, the male national team “The Three Lions” lost the final of the Euro2020 at Wembley to Italy.
The female national team played their final game of the tournament at Wembley also coming up against Germany and won the game by 2 goals to 1 thanks to goals from Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly. It was also the first time England will win the UEFA European championships.
5. Karim Benzema’s Ballon d’Or Triumph
A well-deserved award for the Real Madrid French striker who had a phenomenal season with his club. He also played his way back into his national team squad after being away for a long time but he, unfortunately, missed the World Cup tournament due to injuries.
He scored 27 goals for Madrid in the league helping them clinch the league title, as well as 15 Champions League goals for Madrid which fetched them their 14th UEFA Champions League title. Apart from the Ballon d’Or, he won many other individual awards and was also voted the Real Madrid player of the season.
#Sport is a segment that keeps you abreast of everything happening in the world of sports, shares facts, and sometimes also takes you down memory lane to relive some unforgettable sporting moments. In this edition, we are looking at 5 memorable sports events in the year 2022.
