Our Sport Section picks out star performers from the past year, with the Olympics and Euros prominent
Keely Hodgkinson – Charlie King
The 22-year-old 800 metre runner is the hot favourite to be crowned this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year, and with good reason. Winning the gold medal in Paris represented the high point of what has been a flawless year for Hodgkinson, sweeping up every medal in sight. Her first major triumph of the year came in June, when she defended her title in the European Athletics Championships in Rome. She followed that up by breaking her own national record in the Diamond League in London.
As significant as these successes were, it was the gold medal in Paris Hodgkinson was desperate for. She had long awaited a world title, having finished second in successive world championships, after grabbing a stunning silver in her debut Olympics in Tokyo.
However, there was no danger of Hodgkinson missing out this time, as she justified her status as race favourite to dominate from start to finish, beating Ethiopian Tsige Duguma and Kenyan world champion Mary Moraa. The absence of reigning Olympic champion Athing Mu was helpful, but Hodgkinson was an unstoppable force in 2024, claiming victory in all nine of her 800 metre races.
Hodgkinson was an unstoppable force in 2024
Hodgkinson’s rise has been an inspiring one – claiming silver in Tokyo at just nineteen in her debut Olympics caught the imagination, going one better in Paris topped this off. She has come through challenges in her early life, being left 95% deaf in one ear after an operation, to build a career which could see her dominate in her sport for a long time to come. She is truly deserving of her title as a Redbrick sporting star of 2024.
Jude Bellingham – Farah Yusuf-Meighan
Stourbridge-born Jude Bellingham enjoyed nothing less than an emphatic debut season at European giants Real Madrid, making him one of the bright sparks of British sport in 2024. Bought for an impressive 103m euros (£88.5m) in June of last year, Bellingham was bought into a star-studded squad as an attacking midfielder. Bellingham’s choice of the number 5 on his shirt commemorates legendary Frenchman Zinedine Zidane, a favourite player of his father, Mark Bellingham.
enjoyed nothing less than an emphatic debut season at European giants Real Madrid
Less than a year later, he had delivered Los Blancos the title, and Jude Bellingham was crowned La Liga’s player of the year. With 25 combined goals and assists, Bellingham’s impact was remembered through his performances against rivals Barcelona. He scored last-gasp winners in both games, becoming the first Real player to score in their first two La Liga El Clasicos since Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2007.
In a nerve-wracking Champions League final against his former club Borussia Dortmund, Bellingham stunned once again, slotting teammate Vinicius Junior through on goal with eight minutes to spare of normal time. The goal secured Bellingham’s first Champions League trophy of his career.
Bellingham’s clutch performances extend further than his career at Real Madrid. On international duty for England at the 2024 European Championships, Bellingham yet again scored a remarkable bicycle kick equaliser to take it to extra time against Slovakia with seconds to spare. Inspired by Bellingham, England ended up as runners-up to the competition, beaten by Spain in the final.
Ranked third in the world in the Ballon d’Or awards, there is no surprise as to the accolades Jude Bellingham has achieved in the last year.
Jannik Sinner – Caitlin McGraw
A new tennis star emerged in 2024, with Jannik Sinner achieving a record only previously accomplished by two legends of the sport in Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. The Italian won his first two Grand Slam titles, the Australian and US Opens at the bookends of the calendar, as well as the season-ending ATP Finals. Only losing six matches during the entire year, Sinner won seventy times (the most since Andy Murray in 2016) and stormed to the top of the rankings as the first Italian number one player in men’s tennis, thanks to his aggressive hitting and efficient movement. Rare defeat came at the hands of the equally talented twenty-something year old, Carlos Alcaraz, with the pair always providing thrilling battles which we can look forward to for years to come.
Jannik Sinner thrived on hard courts, beating former Grand Slam winner Daniil Medvedev and hometown hero Taylor Fritz in Melbourne and New York respectively, with seven of his eight titles this year coming on the surface. The top eight players then battled it out in Sinner’s native Italy where the crowd favourite won a repeat of the US Open final to cement his position as the most unstoppable and dominant competitor of the year.
More success came recently, as Sinner helped Team Italy to win the Davis Cup title in late November. Usually reserved and calm in his demeanour, the world number one has faced off-court troubles with revelations of two positive doping tests causing some critics to cast doubts on his achievements from the year. Nevertheless, the consistency to win sets, mental strength and energy sustained by Sinner, albeit focused on one surface, are admirable and his breakout year shows potential for a long and illustrious career ahead. His breakout season shows potential for a long and illustrious career ahead
Rebeca Andrade – Ociarna Davy
During this year’s Paris Olympics, many people were glued to their TVs watching athletes achieve above and beyond for their countries. Artistic gymnastics is always a must-watch event at the Olympics and this summer was no different. A standout gymnast was Rebecca Andrade.
The 25-year-old gymnast competed at her third Olympic games this year and became Brazil’s most decorated gymnast in the country’s history. More impressively, she is also now Brazil’s most decorated Olympian across all sports. During the Paris Olympics, Andrade excelled as she took home four medals, with one gold in floor exercise. Her gold medal podium celebration was one of the most viral moments of the Olympics as Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles, who stood either side of her on the podium, bowed down to her.
Her gold medal podium celebration was one of the most viral moments of the Olympics
Rebeca was raised in a single-mother household with seven siblings. She lived most of her childhood in a favela in Sao Paulo, walking hours to practice in the company of her brothers. When she was four, she started her gymnastics journey and would train at the gym where her aunt worked. Her resilience over the years is not only evident in her upbringing but also the injuries that she has been able to overcome. Most notably, she has torn her ACL three times before which has stopped her from competing in previous competitions. Despite this, she has still been able to achieve medals in the toughest tournaments.
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