Looking back at a fine year

You may not recognise the name Grigory Rodchenkov although he has perhaps done more to shape the 2017 sporting year than any other. He is the former anti-doping chief who fled Russia at the end of 2015 armed with computer files containing evidence of unparalleled levels of state-sponsored doping (amongst other crimes).

The result this year, somewhat belatedly, was the decision taken by the IOC to exclude the Russian Olympic Committee from the Winter Olympics while a number of athletes have also been banned for life.

Another more prominent game-changer was Colin Kaepernick whose knee has become one of the most highly tweeted-about parts of the anatomy. If Jennifer Lopez can insure her derriere for $27m what price should the former San Francisco 49-er attach to his lower limb? Given that he is no longer able to get a game, the answer is probably not much! His decision to protest against police brutality and the oppression of minorities has seen him snubbed by every team, despite many struggling to compete. Off the field, he has at least been rewarded by Sports Illustrated with the Muhammad Ali Award that honours a figure that embodies the ideals of sportsmanship or leadership.

Chris Froome became the first cyclist to secure the tours of both France and Spain in the same season although the latter is now under debate following an adverse sample showing excessive quantities of salbutamol in his urine.

Justin Gatlin became the most unpopular winner of a 100m race when he defeated Usain Bolt in his final career outing at the Olympic Stadium in London. As the dust settled on his protestations, his coach and manager have subsequently been accused of drug-related offences. At least Bolt had the decency to openly embrace the man who had beaten him and encourage the crowd to do the same!

The London crowd did get the chance to replicate the noise levels from the Olympics when Mo Farah won his final 10,000m race despite several competitors working together to obstruct him, causing him to stumble on several occasions. In his last race he secured probably the hardest-fought victory of his career.

The US witnessed one of the world’s most heart-warming victories of the year. After Hurricane Harvey destroyed the local area the Astros added a patch to the front of their uniforms reading “Houston Strong”. They then proceeded to blow away all opposition as they claimed the first World Series pennant (baseball) in their history, defeating the New York Yankees in the final.

Conversely, the Atlanta Falcons blew hot then cold – unfortunately for them in the same game, which happened to be the Super Bowl. Having gained a 28-3 lead they contrived to allow the New England Patriots to re-write the record books.

No team had ever come back from more than a 10-point deficit yet quarterback Tom Brady led five successive scoring drives totaling 31 points to achieve victory in the Bowl’s first ever overtime in its 51-year history.

The top eight cricket teams arrived in the UK for the eighth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy.  One of the most awaited matches was the fixture between India and Pakistan, with the former cruising to victory by 124 runs to seemingly send their arch rivals home early. However, Pakistan defeated South Africa and recovered from a poor position to then beat Sri Lanka to ultimately set up a repeat of the opener.

On this occasion, the roles were reversed with Sarfraz Ahmed’s side, the lowest ranked in the competition, creating delirious scenes to win by 180 runs.

Meanwhile England’s women showed their male counterparts the way by also recovering from an opening defeat to lift the trophy.

Overall, it was a glorious year for Pakistan cricket as they were able to host matches at home for the first time since a terrorist attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus in Lahore in 2009. Frenetic fans, starved of live action, welcomed an International representative XI. The home team duly delivered a 2-1 series victory.

In F1, the result may have been the same but the season bore little resemblance to the three earlier years of Mercedes domination. 

The new rules package introduced for 2017, which created heavier but more powerful and grippy cars, played a key role in helping Ferrari to break through.

Pirelli’s range of tyres were 25 percent wider than 2016’s in a successful search for a big increase in mechanical grip to go with significant aerodynamic changes.

The Mercedes F1 W08 exuded all the elegance we have come to expect, while the Ferrari SF70 was less pretty, somehow stubbier yet purposeful, with its completely different aerodynamic side pods and bodywork adding its own unique stamp of thoroughbred toughness.

It was clear from testing in Barcelona that the black horse would prance again as was a genuine challenger. F1 was a two-horse race, and there is nothing better for a sport than having the two biggest teams slogging it out, weekend after weekend.

It soon became apparent that while the Ferrari worked well on most tracks except perhaps the very fastest, the Mercedes didn’t like low-grip surfaces and tight corners. Later, insiders would refer to the F1 W08 as a ‘diva’, and certainly every effort was made by the engineers to find her sweet spot and keep her happy there.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku changed the dynamic. Vettel betrayed the pressure he was under when he unaccountably lost his head and banged into the side of his arch-rival’s Mercedes while they were running behind the safety car.

That signalled a spree for Hamilton. Mercedes thrashed Ferrari on their home ground, and the Brit took the championship lead from Vettel for the first time. He then won his third race in a row after Vettel, Verstappen and team mate Raikkonen came together in a clumsy start in Singapore, where Mercedes were expected to struggle again. That was the beginning of the rot for Ferrari.

Arguably the biggest feature of the 2017 title fight was Hamilton’s calmness and commitment and his ability always to bounce back stronger after defeat. His remarkable year saw him break Michael Schumacher’s record for pole positions, and brought his victory tally to 62. Vettel, meanwhile, remained a victim of his own occasional hot-headedness, but it’s the difference in their characters that is a key part of their appeal.

And because of them F1 is set up for a wonderful 2018 season in which, for the first time in history, two drivers will be fighting for a fifth title. The question now is who – if anyone – can stop them?

On two wheels at the start of the MotoGP season fans were expecting Maverick Vinales, newly established on the factory Yamaha and owner of top times in testing, to challenge triple world champion Marc Marquez.

He started well winning in Qatar and topping the podium in three of the first five races. Thereafter he faded allowing Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso, aboard the Ducati, to exchange places at the top of the championship in a battle that kept even neutral fans enthralled.

Valentino Rossi also faded after crashing at Le Mans and suffered a leg break later in the year although there were times throughout the season when the Yamaha M1 looked out of sorts, particularly in the wet.

Bizarrely the 2016 model, being used by the Tech 3 team, allowed Rookie of the Year, Johann Zarco (the only rider to win Moto2 twice), to again impress, particularly in front of his home crowd in France and then finished the season strongly leaving him eagerly awaiting the start of the 2018 season.

In the end the championship was settled at Phillip Island with Marquez claiming his four titles, becoming the youngest to reach that mark. Of course the highlight for Bahrain was the visit of KTM rider, Bradley Smith – many new fans will be following him closely next season.

2017 will also be remembered inside the ring for being the year that boxing met the UFC. Conor McGregor in his first professional boxing bout secured the second-highest grossing figures of all time, beaten only by Manny Pacquiao the last time Floyd Mayweather decided to retire! With no one really sure what to expect, McGregor surprised many with the competency of his technical skills although ultimately found the longer fight too exhausting.

There was also a changing of the guard at heavyweight level as Anthony Joshua deposed the long-standing champion Wladimir Kitschko. The Ukranian holds the record for the most successful unified title defences and the longest combined reign in boxing history. 

Joshua, the 2012 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist, answered all questions about his speed, agility and experience against Klitschko, the 1996 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist, to ultimately put down the former champion in the 11th round of a tremendous slugfest.

The “odd years”, devoid of any of the major competitions, always offers other sports the chance to steal the limelight – 2017 certainly delivered.