2024: The Year in Sport

CGTN’s Siobhan McCall takes us through 2024’s biggest news in the world of sports.  #Sport #2024 #NYE

Transcript

00:00Ten years after China's greatest tennis player, Li Na, won the Australian Open,

00:04Zheng Xinwen came close to emulating her hero. She reached her first ever Grand Slam final,

00:10and although that title eluded her, it was a sign of things to come.

00:15Nineteen-year-old Chinese swimmer Pan Zhenle wrote his name into the history books.

00:20He broke the men's 100-meter freestyle world record at the World Championships in Doha.

00:26Six months later, he'd do it all again, becoming Olympic champion with another

00:30new world best time. It wasn't just professional Chinese athletes who hit the headlines.

00:36Millions of people live-streamed and fans travelled from all over China to watch the

00:40viral Village Basketball League. After a five-year absence due to Covid,

00:45the Shanghai Grand Prix returned to the Formula One calendar, the tickets selling out within

00:50minutes. And while the race was won by Max Verstappen, Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu was

00:55able to compete in his home city for the first time. Fans flocked to Liverpool to say goodbye

01:00to one of football's greatest ever managers, Jurgen Klopp, who stood down after nine years.

01:06He led them to their first league title in 30 years.

01:09Euro 2024 took place in Germany. The early favourites Spain didn't lose a match,

01:14and they went on to win a record fourth title, beating England in the final.

01:20Eritrean cyclist Biniam Jermay made history at the Tour de France, winning the green jersey.

01:25He became the first black African to win a stage at the competition.

01:30Team China put on its best performance in an overseas Olympics, winning 40 goals and 91

01:36medals in Paris. That included a historic diving clean sweep, and Zheng Qinwen becoming China's

01:42first ever tennis singles gold medallist. And Zheng's success inspired a tennis boom

01:47back home, with ticket sales and fan attendance for the China Open reaching record levels,

01:52and a spike in court bookings and classes. Sui Yongxi became just the seventh Chinese

01:58player to star in the NBA when he joined the Brooklyn Nets. Sadly, his spell there was cut

02:04short after five games when he picked up a season-ending injury. After 22 Grand Slam titles,

02:10Rafael Nadal called time on his glittering tennis career. The Spanish star played his

02:16final tournament with compatriot Carlos Alcaraz, and he made an emotional plea to the 21-year-old

02:21to continue the great things they've achieved together. And for the first time ever, two Asian

02:26players competed in the World Chess Championship. In a nail-biting contest, China's reigning

02:32champion Ding Liren was defeated by India's Gukesh Dommaraju, making him the youngest ever champion.