The year 2022 was a significant year for sports, which saw individuals and teams go all the way to set and break records.
This year also saw many other competitions and stars return to action following a long break due to the Covid-19 outbreak and restrictions.
Here are the highlights of some of the biggest achievers this year:
Senegal Afcon maiden win
Sadio Mane’s Senegal beat then Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah’s Egypt 4-2 on penalties, following their 0-0 draw in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) final, with Mane scoring the winning spot-kick.
Coach Aliou Cisse led the Lions of Teranga to their first ever competition triumph, after previously falling short in 2002 and 2019 as a player and coach.
Rafael Nadal Grand Slam record-breaking win
Spanish international Rafael Nadal became the most successful male tennis player after landing his record-breaking 22nd Grand Slam title. Nadal opened the year with a win in the 2022 Australian Open, beating second seed Daniil Medvedev 2-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.
The 36-year-old went on to extend his record in style when the King of clay, as he is also known, won his 14th French Open title against Casper Ruud in the final, beating him 6–3, 6–3, 6–0.
Real Madrid Champions League victory
Real Madrid was crowned European champions following their 1-0 win over Liverpool in the 2022 Champions League final played on 28 May in Paris, France.
Madrid’s record-breaking 14th Champions League triumph was deemed as the greatest campaign in the history of the competition, as they spectacularly went past Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City en route to the final.
Michaela Witbooi wins judo gold medal at Commonwealth Games
South African Michaela Witbooi claimed the gold medal in the 48kg judo fighter’s category at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on 1 August.
Witbooi defeated India’s Shushila Likmabam to become the first South African female judokas to win a medal in the Commonwealth games history, and delivered the first judo accolade since the Glasgow Games in 2014.
AC Milan Scudetto league title win
AC Milan are amongst the biggest winners in 2022, as they ended their Scudetto 11-year drought by edging arch-rivals Inter Milan to the Serie A title to be confirmed champions of Italy.
Head coach Stefano Pioli reflected on the victory and said: “It’s clear that we arrived at this prestigious victory ahead of schedule because the club’s intention was to invest in mostly young players, so perhaps we expected to win a little later, but instead we managed almost immediately. So it is clear that for me and for us, 2022 has been a truly important year full of satisfactions.”
Banyana Banyana Wafcon champions
Banyana Banyana became the pride and joy of South African football when they won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) for the first time when they beat host nation Morocco 2-1 at the Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah in Rabat, to be crowned the queens of Africa.
Coach Desiree Ellis and her charges are preparing for a bigger task heading into the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand respectively, after they were drawn with Italy, Argentina and Sweden in Group G.
Argentina 2022 Fifa World Cup champions
Argentina are arguably the biggest winners of the year after they were recently crowned the 2022 Fifa World Cup champions in Qatar, to what will go down as one of the greatest football matches ever.
The Lionel Messi-led side came out victorious on penalties following a dramatic 3-3 draw after extra time at the Lusail Stadium.
Messi and his teammates delivered only the third World Cup trophy on Argentine soil, the first since 1986 during the late icon Diego Maradona era.
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