As January gave way to February, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon saw a spectacular underdog story as the African Nations’ Cup football took place. Big teams flattered to deceive – a Senegal team with the likes of Demba Ba failed to pick up a point – and unfancied Zambia fought their way to a poignant victory as they defeated the Ivory Coast in a final decided by penalties. The fact that the final took place in Libreville, not far from where a previous Zambia team had tragically died in a 1993 plane crash, may well have been the factor which enabled the previously unheralded Zambians to keep Drogba and co. at bay.
Early March saw the quirky farewell of a downhill skiing legend, the Swiss Didier Cuche. After seventeen years on the World Cup skiing circuit, he took to the slopes of Schladming in Austria in the garb of a 1930s skiier. His run, complete with extra-long old-fashioned skis, was perhaps a little slower than he was used to, but having finished the 2012 World Cup season in a 6th place which had included four individual victories, the thirty-seven year old veteran went out on a high.
The man who has polarised opinion within the snooker world since his first professional wins, the immensely talented Ronnie O’Sullivan, this April and May used the Crucible Theatre to first of all win his fourth World Championship, and to then announce an indefinite sabbatical. Having entertained with his usual enigmacy, the remainder of the snooker season was that bit more sedate for his absence.
Road cycling erupted into the British sporting consciousness in July, but in May and June the Canadian Ryder Hesjedal made his own national headlines by taking over the Italian hills and winning the Giro D’Italia. In one of the closest finishes to a Grand Tour in many years Hesjedal sneaked the overall victory from Joaquim Rodriguez. This was despite three weeks of attritional cycling, and two incredible stage victories from the Spanish rider. Although to many the Giro became a footnote in a year of cycling dominated by Wiggins and then the ghosts of Lance Armstrong’s past, the battle in the Dolomites should live long in the memory.
June also saw the fifth staging of the VIVA World Cup. The football tournament for nations unaffiliated with FIFA involved a record nine squads and was ground-breakingly staged in Iraqi Kurdistan, who took full advantage of home advantage to win the tournament. Involving teams representing places as diverse as Provence in France and Darfur, it’s easy to find political issues with this competition, but in this case the fact that a match between Zanzibar and Northern Cyprus could even occur reminds us of how potent a weapon sport can be. You can be sure the Iraqi Kurds were celebrating after their tight 2-1 victory over the Cypriots at any rate.
July and August were dominated by the Olympics, but that’s not to say there weren’t some great stories buried amongst rumours about Usain Bolt and the Swedish handball team. The two Saudi women who took part in particular deserved a greater profile; despite being branded ‘prostitutes of the Olympics’ on Twitter, Sarah Attar and Wojdan Shaherkani both took massive steps on behalf of their country. Equally, the Paralympics which led us into September provided an almost endless number of incredible sporting stories, for example Jacqueline Freney. The Australian swimmer won eight gold medals yet seemed to barely cause a ripple in the media, something that seems monumentally unfair when you consider Michael Phelps’ incredible profile.
Another sport which is overshadowed by a much flashier cousin is Touring Cars. Driving cars that actually resemble your Mum’s Renault Scenic as opposed to the flying machines of Formula One, yet another Brit won a global title in November. Rob Huff took second in his Chevrolet Cruse on the streets of Macau to win the World Touring Car Championship ahead of more experienced and renowned teammates, and despite a crash in the penultimate race which could well have derailed his chances.
However, as the year drew to a close an arguably less-likely nation spoiled the British party as Egyptian pair Ramy Ashour and Mohamed El Shorbagy contested a tight final in December’s Doha-based World Squash Championships. Having both beaten British hopefuls in the semi-finals (former World number one James Willstrop and former World Champion Nick Matthew respectively) Ashour prevailed over El Shorbagy, who is remarkably still a student at BristolUniversity.
Despite a fantastic sporting contest, the most unfathomable element of that squash tournament, maybe even of the sporting year – excluding Mario Balotelli – remains the fact that the two finalists arrived on court via Harley Davidson. However it would seem ridiculous to place the razzmatazz and glamour of some enthusiastic product placement over what has been a spectacular year all over the sporting world. The only way 2013 might top it is if they get the riders in MotoGP to preface the final race with a squash game…
