A year of achievements

Any year that contains World Championships and an Olympics makes it tough to select the top individual sportsman; add to that individuals who have broken long-standing records within a team environment and the job simply gets harder.

I am again going to turn to Laureus for the shortlist and am looking for individuals who have become the first to achieve a given feat, continued to build an outstanding legacy of dominance, or simply obliterated the field around them – all with a good sporting attitude.

Step forward, or rather pedal, Bradley Wiggins who became the only cyclist to win the Tour de France and an Olympic gold medal in the same year in 2012. He became the first Briton to win the Tour in July and followed this up one month later with an emotional gold medal ride in front of ecstatic home supporters in the Olympic Time Trial in London.

Wiggins has now won seven Olympic medals, including four golds. In a remarkable 2012, he also won the Paris to Nice, the Tour de Romandie and the Tour du Dauphiné. In Stage 14 of the Tour de France he also won many plaudits when he slowed down the peloton to allow several riders, including his rival Cadel Evans, to catch up after punctures when tacks had been thrown on to the road by a spectator. Wiggins was dubbed ‘Le Gentleman’ at the end of the stage.

Another to receive plaudits in the UK this summer was Mo Farah who joined athletics greats such as Emil Zatopek, Vladimir Kuts, Lasse Viren and Kenenisa Bekele as winner of the Olympic 5,000 and 10,000 metres double in London. He thrilled the home crowd with powerful finishes over the last lap to become the first Briton to win gold medals over both distances. In 2012 he also became the first man to defend his European 5,000 metres title in Helsinki. He was voted European Athlete of the Year for the second straight time.

No list would be complete without Usain Bolt who won 100 metres, 200 metres and 4x100 relay Olympic gold medals in London to repeat his success from Beijing in 2008 – a feat never achieved before. Regarded by many as the greatest sprinter of all time, he is the first athlete to hold both 100 and 200 world records since electronic timing was introduced. Along with his Jamaica team, he also holds the world record in the 4x100 relay.

In football, 2012 was another prolific goalscoring year from FC Barcelona star Lionel Messi. In November, he scored his 76th goal in a calendar year to move ahead of the great Pelé, who scored 75 goals in 1958. A month later he reached 86 goals to overtake Gerd Muller’s record of 85 in 1972 and finished the year with an incredible 91 goals to his name. He was also leading scorer in the UEFA Champions League for the fourth year with 14 goals, though the only trophy which he won with Barcelona during the year was the Spanish Cup. Messi won the FIFA Footballer of the Year Award in 2009, 2010 and 2011 and has been nominated for the 2012 Award which will be announced in January.

American swimmer Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian of all time. He made history in the Olympic Aquatic Centre in London when he won four gold and two silver medals to take his career total of medals won to 22 – made up of 18 gold, two silver and two bronze. In 2008 in Beijing, he famously won eight gold medals to beat the long-standing record of seven gold medals at one Olympiad held by Laureus World Sports Academy member Mark Spitz from Munich in 1972. In London, he became the first man ever to defend an Olympic title – 100m butterfly and 200m medley – at three Olympiads.

Germany’s Sebastian Vettel won his third straight Formula One World Championship, clinching the title in the very last race of the season, the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo. Only the great Juan Manuel Fangio, who won four straight championships between 1954 and 1957 and Michael Schumacher, with five titles between 2000 and 2004, have a better record of consecutive titles.

The key to Vettel’s success came in September when his Red Bull car was upgraded. This resulted in excellent qualifying performances and four straight Grand Prix wins in Singapore, Japan, Korea and India.

The list of those who miss out is stunning, adding more credibility to the achievements of those who made it. There is no room for France’s remarkable Sebastian Loeb who won a record ninth consecutive World Rally Championship, appropriately at the Rallye de France. He clinched the championship two rounds early. He also holds the record for most points, most wins and most podium finishes.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy topped the money list of both European and US golf tours while LeBron James joined Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen as the only players in basketball history to have won an NBA title and an Olympic gold medal in the same year. He was named Most Valuable Player in the NBA Finals over Oklahoma City and became the United States’ all-time leading points scorer with 273.

Regarded as the greatest badminton player of all time, China’s Lin Dan became the first man to win back-to-back Olympic singles gold medals to follow his success in Beijing. In 2012 he also became the first man in 33 years to win the All England Open five times, plus he won a fifth German Open.

German discus thrower Robert Harting won the Olympic gold medal in London to go with his 2009 and 2011 World Championship titles. Harting’s Olympic success meant he was unbeaten in 29 competitions. He famously hurdled down the track, set up for the women’s 100 metres hurdles finals, to celebrate.

While this has to be one of the closest contests, my winner would be Bradley Wiggins. His individual feats this year are outstanding, yet his road-race achievements add to his legacy of track success, a cross-over which is unheard of – he also did this in a truly sporting manner.