Individuals and teams went to great lengths to achieve and break records in 2022, making it a noteworthy year for sports.
Many other tournaments and stars returned to action this year after a lengthy hiatus due to the Covid-19 epidemic and restrictions.
Here are the highlights of some of the year’s greatest achievers:
Senegal Afcon debut victory
Sadio Mane’s Senegal defeated Mohamed Salah’s Egypt 4-2 on penalties following a 0-0 draw in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), with Mane hitting the decisive penalty.
Aliou Cisse led the Lions of Teranga to their first-ever competition victory, having previously failed as a player and coach in 2002 and 2019.
Rafael Nadal’s record-breaking Grand Slam victory
After winning his record-breaking 22nd Grand Slam title, Rafael Nadal of Spain became the most successful male tennis player ever. Nadal began the year with an Australian Open victory in 2022, defeating the second-seeded Daniil Medvedev 2-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.
The 36-year-old furthered his record when the King of clay, as he is sometimes called, defeated Casper Ruud 6–3, 6–3, 6–0 in the final to win his 14th French Open championship.
Real Madrid won the Champions League.
Real Madrid was declared European champions after defeating Liverpool 1-0 in the Champions League final on May 28, 2022 in Paris, France.
As they defeated Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, and Manchester City en route to the final, Madrid’s record-setting 14th Champions League victory was deemed the finest campaign in the competition’s history.
Michaela Witbooi is the Commonwealth Games judo champion.
Michaela Witbooi of South Africa won the gold medal in the 48kg judo category at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on August 1.
Witbooi defeated Shushila Likmabam of India to become the first South African female judoka to earn a medal in the history of the Commonwealth Games, and the first judo medal since the Glasgow Games in 2014.
AC Milan’s Scudetto league championship
AC Milan is one of the biggest winners in 2022, as they ended their 11-year Scudetto drought by overcoming archrivals Inter Milan to win the Serie A championship and become Italy’s champions.
Head coach Stefano Pioli commented on the triumph, stating, “It’s evident that we achieved this famous victory ahead of schedule, as the club’s objective was to invest primarily in young players, so perhaps we expected to win a little later, but we did so nearly immediately.” Consequently, it is evident that 2022 has been a tremendously significant and rewarding year for me and for us.”
Banyana Banyana Wafcon champions
Banyana Banyana became the pride and delight of South African football when they won the inaugural Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) by defeating host nation Morocco 2-1 at the Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah in Rabat, to be named the queens of Africa.
After being placed in Group G with Italy, Argentina, and Sweden for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, coach Desiree Ellis and her squad are prepared for a more difficult challenge.
Argentina will win the 2022 Fifa World Cup.
Argentina are perhaps the year’s biggest victors after being proclaimed 2022 Fifa World Cup champions in Qatar in a match that will go down in history as one of the greatest football encounters ever.
The team captained by Lionel Messi prevailed on penalties after a dramatic 3-3 draw in extra time at the Lusail Stadium.
Messi and his teammates brought only the third World Cup trophy to Argentine land, the first since Diego Maradona’s reign in 1986.
»A look back at some of the biggest achievements in 2022«