AWARDS: The highs, lows and whoas of 2024

It’s been an unforgettable year of sport, with several individual South Africans – and teams – hogging the headlines for memorable reasons.

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Clinton van der Berg’s Got Game website highlights the highs and lows – and a few ‘whoas’ – from 2024:

Man of the Year: It shows how far MMA has come, dragged out from underground cage fighting to front and centre, that local fighter Dricus du Plessis has become a South African hero.

Ferocious in the octagon and friendly beyond it, his emergence as UFC middleweight champion has embodied the spirit that abounds among his compatriots.

Big dog, big heart.

That which must not be mentioned: The Proteas getting skittled for a paltry 55 on the first morning of the second Test against India.

Opportunism and opprobrium: David Teeger being stripped of the SA u-19 cricket captaincy amid messy political posturing over Israel and Palestine.

Pillars of Power: Pieter-Steph du Toit may have cemented his place in history by becoming the first South African to be named the World Men’s 15’s Player of the Year for a second time, but he’s one of four Bok superstars who lit up 2024. PSDT, Cheslin Kolbe, Eben Etzebeth and Ox Nche were the rocks upon which the great Boks of 2024 were built.

Football Result of the Year: Bafana Bafana beating World Cup finalists Morocco 2-0 at the Cup of Nations.

Most Spectacular Individual Performance: Ronwen Williams saving four penalties in the Cup of Nations quarterfinal shootout against Cape Verde. The stuff of heroes.

Monument to Greatness: It may be time to confirm these Springboks as the greatest in history. By claiming The Rugby Championship in September, their first full such title since 2009, they also scored their first win in Brisbane since 2013, the first against New Zealand in Johannesburg since 2014 and the first in Cape Town since 2005. For good measure, that was their fourth consecutive win against the All Blacks for the first time in the professional era. Ending the season as world number one sealed the deal.

Top Team: The SA20 has already captured the hearts and minds of cricket lovers. In February, Sunrisers Eastern Cape clinched their second consecutive title.

Wonder Woman: SA Sevens flyhalf Nadine Roos scored 34 points in the Vancouver Sevens, no mean feat in that this was achieved across five matches. All on her own.

Wonder Woman Redux: Laura Wolfaardt scoring 184 off 147 balls in the third ODI against Sri Lanka, the highest score by a SA woman in any format. She is one of just three women to score a century in all three formats of international cricket.

When Sport Meets Tragedy: Boxing SA CFO Kenneth Mamosadi getting gunned down and killed at his home in February.

Stat of the Year: 132.1. The speed, in kilometres, that SA ace Shabnim Ismail recorded when she bowled the fastest delivery in women’s cricket history. The Mumbai Indians were pleased.

Try of the Year: YouTube does a far better job at revealing the majesty of Warrick Gelant’s 79th-minute try against Leinster in the United Rugby Championship. The finish was spectacular, but the buildup between Salmaan Moerat, Manie Libbok, Damian Willemse and Suleiman Hartzenberg was symphonic. Go on, take a look.

Iron Man: To win a record 128th cap for the Springboks is utterly heroic. To do so while playing in the heart of the scrum without taking a backward step is doubly impressive. Eben Etzebeth is some player, giant in stature, giant in reputation. When all is said and done, he will rank among the greatest to have played the game.

Mighty Mite: It may have passed by with little more than a whisper, but jockey Richard Fourie’s 335th season winner, eclipsing Anthony Delpech’s mark from 1998/99, was seismic.

What Might Have Been: Two T20 World Cup finals, one for each Proteas team, two defeats. Moving on …

Acing it: South Africa may have had a lean time of it at Wimbledon in recent years, but Kgothatso Montjane and her partner, Yui Kamiji, provided succour by capturing the wheelchair women’s doubles title in July.

Outstanding Olympian: South Africa won six medals at the Paris Olympics, none shinier than Tatjana Smith’s gold in the 100m breaststroke final. Sadly, her silver in the 200m was the swansong to a magnificent career.

Biker from Beyond: After racing to bronze in the Olympics, Alan Hatherly won the overall title in the 2024 UCI XCO World Cup, combining the title with the UCI World Champion’s rainbow jersey.

Fabulous Fast Baller: Kagiso Rabada’s excellence knows no bounds, having claimed his 300th Test wicket earlier this year. A staggering haul by a giant of the game.

Hands of Stone: Shervantaigh Koopman engaged in the most exciting single round in a local boxing ring this year, touching the canvas twice and promptly sending his opponent, Brandon Cook, to the deck all within the first three minutes of their wild brawl. He then proceeded to take the bloodied Cook apart with surgical skill to end matters in the fifth.

SA Boxing Performance of the Year: Phumelela Cafu was having just his 11th professional bout, fighting in the heart of champion Kosei Tanaka’s Japanese homeland, but he not only dropped the former four-weight world champion, he edged a split decision. It earned him the WBO junior-bantamweight championship title and the admiration of tens of thousands of fans.

Who was YOUR standout SA individual and team in the world of sport in 2024?

Let us know by clicking on the comment tab below this article or by emailing info@thesouthafrican.com or sending a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1

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