HOORAY FOR HERAH IN 2021
JON ANDERSON countdowns the top 50 sportspeople of 2021 – with a sprinter, golfer and tennis player vying for top honours
AFEMALE sprinter who challenged “unbreakable” world records, a 50-year-old man who created history or a controversial tennis player who went oh so close to the ultimate.
They are three of the choices for the 2021 Sportsperson of the Year, or in terms of names Jamaica’s sprint sensation Elaine Thompson-Herah, golfer Phil Mickelson or tennis genius Novak Djokovic.
Thompson-Herah, 29, ran 10.54sec for the 100m and 21.53sec for the 200m, making her the second fastest in history behind Florence Griffith Joyner (10.49 and 21.34).
History doesn’t lie in golf, highlighting Mickelson’s remarkable two-shot victory at Kiawah Island, South Carolina, when he became the oldest major championship winner at 50 years, 11 months and seven days.
Then there was “The Djoker”, who was just one win away from joining Rod Laver (twice) and Don Budge) as the only men to win all four grand slam titles in a calendar year.
Naturally, lists such as these are highly subjective and I make no apology for the bias towards Australian sportspersons.
1 ELAINE THOMPSON HERAH (JAMAICA, ATHLETICS):
She was the star of Tokyo, running an Olympic record of 10.61sec in the 100m, before adding gold medals in the 200m and 4x100m. That came after she won the 100m-200m double at Rio de Janeiro in 2016. She is the best athlete on the planet.
2 PHIL MICKELSON (US, GOLF):
Never underestimate the magnitude of his win in the US PGA Championship when at 50 years and 11 months he became the oldest to win a major.
3 NOVAK DJOKOVIC (SERBIA, TENNIS):
Love or loathe him, and the latter category is growing, to be just one win from a Grand Slam defines his greatness.
4 CANELO ALVAREZ (MEXICO, BOXING):
The best pugilist in the business, plus he’s active, fighting and stopped three quality opponents. Fifty seven fights, 54 wins, two draws and one loss (to Floyd Mayweather on points).
5 LIONEL MESSI (ARGENTINA, FOOTBALL):
To have won a record seventh
Ballon d’Or (best player in the world) says it all. And he’s showing no signs of slowing at age 34.
6 MAX VERSTAPPEN (NETHERLANDS, MOTOR RACING):
To win his first Formula One world championship at 24 was special enough, but to beat Lewis Hamilton in the final race was the best way to do it.
7 SIFAN HASSAN (NETHERLANDS, ATHLETICS):
Such is her supremacy, the biggest surprise at the Tokyo Olympics was the fact she only ran third in the 1500m before collecting the 5000m-10,000m golden double.
8 TOM BRADY (US, AMERICAN FOOTBALL):
A poster boy for the oldies, Brady changed teams at 43 and promptly took Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl triumph, his seventh. They are favourites to go back to back.
9 MIKAELA SHIFFRIN (US, ALPINE SKIING):
Can she, in time, become the greatest female skier in history? We will find out at the Winter Olympics where she plans to race all five individual events.
10 ALEXIA PUTELLAS (SPAIN, FOOTBALL):
Barcelona’s attacking midfielder was a runaway Ballon d’Or winner based on her club and country performances.
11 KARSTEN WARHOLM (NORWAY, ATHLETICS):
In July he broke the 29-yearold 400m hurdles record, then smashed his record at the Olympics, where he posted 45.94sec in a race for the ages.
12 JESSICA FOX (AUSTRALIA, CANOE SLALOM):
The “Don Bradman” of her sport, all that was left was Olympic gold, which she achieved in stunning fashion in the slalom.
13 JON RAHM (SPAIN, GOLF):
Claimed the US Open for his first major then finished as the US PGA Tour’s player of the year. He also collected the Vardon Trophy (for US Tour scoring average) for a second straight year.
14 ATHING MU (US, ATHLETICS):
She was the young star of the Tokyo Olympics, aged just 19 when she struck gold in the 800m with a stunning 1min 55.21sec effort, before adding 4x400m gold.
15 CAELEB DRESSEL (US, SWIMMING):
Five gold medals at Tokyo, including three in individual events, made him clearly the swimmer of the Games.
16 CARISSA MOORE (US, SURFING):
Only appropriate that the dominant female surfer in the game added Olympic gold to her fifth WSL World Championship.
17 TADEJ POGACAR (SLOVENIA, CYCLING):
At just 23 he added a second straight Tour de France to help him top the year-end UCI World Rankings.
18 ASH BARTY (AUSTRALIA, TENNIS):
To have retained her No.1 ranking and won Wimbledon were the obvious standouts this year, but to do so with such grace just adds to her legend.
19 SAM KERR (AUSTRALIA, FOOTBALL):
She may have placed third in the Ballon d’Or, but when it comes to getting the ball in the net, none are better than Kerr.
20 JOAO MOREIRA (BRAZIL, HORSE RACING):
Soared back to the top by winning the Hong Kong jockeys’ premiership in a year in which
he rode his 1000th winner in the jurisdiction.
21 LEWIS HAMILTON (ENGLAND, MOTOR RACING):
Yes, he fell at the final hurdle (no fault of his own), but he still won eight races at age 36.
22 ELIUD KIPCHOGE (KENYA, ATHLETICS):
Was named the Tokyo Olympics’ best male athlete after the largest winning margin in the marathon for 50 years.
23 JAMIE KAH (AUSTRALIA, HORSE RACING):
Given she competes on a level playing field against men, and beats them, she has to be very high on this list.
24 STEPH CURRY (US, BASKETBALL):
The sweetest three-point shooter the game has seen, his start to the 2021-22 season suggests he’s never been better.
25 KAMARU USMAN (NIGERIA, UFC):
Three massive wins in 2021 suddenly has him in the argument as one of the greatest cage fighters in history.
26 EMMA McKEON (AUSTRALIA, SWIMMING):
Four Olympic gold medals at Tokyo, including individual gold in the 50m and 100m freestyle, says it all.
27 ARIARNE TITMUS (AUSTRALIA, SWIMMING):
Her two gold at the Tokyo Olympics carried extra weight when she took down 400m freestyle legend Katie Ledecky.
28 KEVIN DURANT (US, BASKETBALL):
KD supporters could strongly argue he should be ahead of Curry after dominating the Olympics for the US.
29 SHOHEI OHTANI (JAPAN, BASEBALL):
When you become the first player to be an All-Star as a pitcher and a hitter, as he did in 2021, you are something very special.
30 KAYLEE McKEOWN (AUSTRALIA, SWIMMING):
Three gold medals in the Tokyo pool, including individual ones in the 100m and 200m backstroke.
31 FABIO QUARTARARO (FRANCE, MOTOGP):
“El Diablo” became the first Frenchman to win the MotoGP world championship, claiming five races on his Yamaha.
32 KATIE LEDECKY (US, SWIMMING):
She may have lost her 400m freestyle crown, but wins in the 800m-1500m double took her to seven Olympic golds.
33 ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI (POLAND, FOOTBALL):
One of the purest scorers the game has seen and, naturally enough, he had many supporters for the Ballon d’Or.
34 ANNEMIEK VAN VLEUTEN (NETHERLANDS, CYCLING):
To think she has just had her most dominant season in the saddle at age 39, culminating in Olympic gold.
35 TYSON FURY (ENGLAND, BOXING):
The undefeated “Gypsy King” added to his legend with a second knockout win over arch rival Deontay Wilder, a victory that saw him suddenly being ranked with the finest heavyweights in history.
36 NELLY KORDA (US, GOLF):
Her breakout year at just 23, included winning her first major at the Women’s US PGA Championship before adding Olympic gold.
37 JAKOB INGEBRIGTSEN (NORWAY, ATHLETICS):
The Olympic 1500m champion is built more like a weightlifter, which helps explain the raw power that took him to a gold medal in a blistering 3min28.32sec.
38 JOE ROOT (ENGLAND, CRICKET):
If Test cricket is the pinnacle, then as a batsman Root is a clear leader given his heroics in 2021. Scored six centuries this year before the start of the Adelaide Test.
39 CONNOR McDAVID (CANADA, ICE HOCKEY):
A couple of years ago there were actual conversations about who was the best in the game. McDavid is so good, there is no further debate.
40 ANTIONE DUPONT (FRANCE, RUGBY UNION):
The scrum-half led his team to its first win over the All Blacks, plus taking Toulouse to the Champions Cup and French Top14 double. Named World Player of the Year.
41 GABRIEL MEDINA (BRAZIL, SURFING):
Won his third World Championship in a truncated season and was a close fourth in the Tokyo Olympics.
42 KYLE LARSON (US, NASCAR):
Drove his Chevrolet Camaro to victory in both the NASCAR Cup series championship and regular season championship.
43 CRISTIANO RONALDO (PORTUGAL, FOOTBALL):
He may have had his colours lowered in the Ballon d’Or, but the maestro broke several games and goals records.
44 ALEXANDER ZVEREV (GERMANY, TENNIS):
Will 2021 be the year looked back upon the season Zverev made his move, including Olympic gold and another ATP finals win?
45 ISRAEL ADESANYA (NZ, UFC):
Finished 2021 with a clear win for the middleweight championship over Martin Vettori. The big one is next, a rematch with Australia’s Robert Whittaker.
46 JORGINHO (ITALY, FOOTBALL):
Third in the Ballon d’Or after being integral in Chelsea’s Champions League win, this defensive midfielder is among the finest of his type in the game.
47 GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO (GREECE, BASKETBALL):
He’s just unlucky that Steph Curry and Kevin Durant are playing in the same era as he would be a worthy No.1 in his sport.
48 TOM TRBOJEVIC (AUSTRALIA, RUGBY LEAGUE):
“Tommy Turbo” emerged in 2021 as a 194cm try-scoring machine, culminating in the Wally Lewis Medal and the Dally M.
49 MARCO ODERMATT (SWITZERLAND, ALPINE SKIING):
After a fabled junior career, Odermatt is now taking all before him in senior ranks where he races in all disciplines but specialises in giant slalom.
50 TERENCE CRAWFORD (US, BOXING):
The undefeated 34year-old known as “Bud” is technically brilliant, plus he hits very hard with both hands. Just needs to face and beat Errol Spence to confirm his legend.