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≡ STORIES OF 2024 ≡
There’s no question about the top story of 2024; it’s the brilliant success of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad in Paris last summer. But that was not the only story of 2024, as there was a lot happening both on and off the fields of play.
And some things that happened in 2024 will continue into 2025. So let’s check out our top stories of this year – in two parts – before looking ahead to what 2025 has in store.
No. 10: Pogacar and Elor remain unbeatable
You may not follow cycling or wrestling closely, but two stars won sensational victories that continued to raise their profiles, into 2025.
Slovenian star Tadej Pogacar came into 2024 already a two-time winner of the Tour de France, but he had bigger plans for the season. After taking the early-season Strade Bianche in Italy, he finished third in the important Milan-Sanremo race and then won the seven-stage Volta Ciclista a Catalunya by 3:41, and the 110th Liege-Bastogne-Liege by 1:39.
All that led up to his first appearance at the famed Giro d’Italia. He destroyed the field, winning by 9:56 and taking six stage victories. A month later, he lined up for the Tour de France and won his third title – taking six stages again – beating two-time defending champ Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) by 6:19.
He said he would not try the never-before-done Grand Tour sweep at the Vuelta a Espana, instead focusing on the UCI World Road Championship, winning by 0:34 and becoming only the third ever to pull off that triple. He then won Il Lombardia for a second Monument win. Wow. He’s still just 26.
American wrestler Amit Elor, 20, came into 2024 with back-to-back triples, winning the women’s World Junior, World U-23 and World Championship golds in 2022 and 2023 at 72 kg. But there is no 72 kg class at the Olympic Games, meaning she had a choice and decided to compete at 68 kg. Any loss in power or efficiency? Nope.
She won the Olympic Trials final over 2021 Worlds bronze winner Forrest Molinari, 6-0 and 2-1, to advance to Paris. Once there, she stomped reigning 68 kg World Champion Buse Tusun (TUR) by 10-2 in the first round, then won 8-0 and 10-0 to get to the final, where she win by 3-0 over 2021 World Champion Meerim Zhumanazarova (KGZ). At 20, she’s the youngest American wrestler to ever win an Olympic gold.
Born in California to Israeli parents – her father attended Boise State as a shot and discus man on scholarship – Elor received her share of social-media anti-Semitic hate, but replied on Instagram with a video, wearing a yellow pin as a symbol of efforts to return the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, and saying “Eighty years ago, my grandparents survived the Holocaust, but antisemitism is all around us. My grandparents won, I won. Humanity will win. Never again.”
Watch for both in 2025.
No. 9: Football’s wild year, in Saudi Arabia and Paris
FIFA had a big year in 2024, awarding the 2030 and 2034 men’s World Cups, and launching itself into controversy with both feet. The federation has had a tradition of moving the high-profile World Cup in a continental rotation, but with the 2030 World Cup also being the centennial of the event, it maneuvered the process cleverly, awarding the event to a European-African combined bid from Morocco, Portugal and Spain, while also playing “celebratory” opening matches in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The 1930 World Cup was played in Uruguay with the hosts defeating Argentina in the final.
So, that meant the rotation moved to Asia for 2034, with Saudi Arabia the only bidder and ready to spend lavishly on the event. So on 11 December, a special FIFA Congress was held in which there was not even a vote on each event, but a call for acclimation by applause from an online audience of delegates from the national federations.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino (SUI) hailed the award of both events, with the sport returning to the Middle East just 12 years after Qatar hosted the 2022 World Cup. Human Rights Watch was appalled, saying in a statement:
“Today’s confirmation of Saudi Arabia as host of the 2034 FIFA men’s World Cup, despite the well-known and severe risks to residents, migrant workers and visiting fans alike, marks a moment of great danger. It should also mark a moment for change.
“As global and regional human rights organisations, trade unions, fans groups and organisations representing migrant workers, many of us have long highlighted the severe risks posed by Saudi Arabia’s hosting of mega-sporting events. By awarding the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia without meaningful protections, FIFA has today decided both to ignore our warnings and discard its own human rights policies.”
¶
On the field, the U.S. women staged a stunning rebound from its elimination in the quarterfinals of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, winning the CONCACAF W Gold Cup under interim coach Twila Kilgore. Chelsea coach Emma Hayes (GBR), hired in November 2023, came on in May and after four friendlies (3-0-1), assembled the American Olympic squad for Paris.
The U.S. selectees responded with fiercer defense and a revitalized offense with forwards Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman, sailing through their group matches by 3-0, 4-1 and 2-1, then winning extra-time matches against Japan and Germany by 1-0, and then the gold-medal match against Brazil, also by 1-0. It was the first U.S. Olympic gold since 2012.
Hayes finished the season with her teams winning 13 of their 15 matches, with draws in the other two. She earned FIFA Women’s Coach of the Year honors and the U.S. finished the season ranked no. 1 again.
No. 8: Challenges over women’s sport, everywhere
The question of who should be allowed to compete in the women’s division was a hot topic in 2024, no more so than at the Olympic Games in Paris.
There, two veteran women fighters – Yu-ting Lin (TPE) at 57 kg and Imane Khelif (ALG) at 66 kg – were entered and competed in Paris, with Lin having been a two-time World Champion and Khelif a 2022 Worlds silver medalist. However, the International Boxing Association disqualified both at the 2023 World Championships for not meeting “eligibility” requirements, but with no specifics.
In Paris, questions were raised about both by the IBA, which accused the International Olympic Committee of allowing them to compete in the Games despite failing the IBA’s tests in 2023, which it continued to refuse to provide. Both Lin and Khelif won their weight classes in Paris and the argument went on. The IOC issued a statement which noted:
“We have seen in reports misleading information about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments.
“These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process. …
“The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure – especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years.”
A later French newspaper report on Khelif’s test was challenged by her and a lawsuit was promised. That drama continues. In October, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls released a study and called for the re-introduction of gender testing in sports, explaining:
“Current technology enables a reliable sex screening procedure through a simple cheek swab that ensures non-invasiveness, confidentiality and dignity.
“In a small number of cases, such screenings can indicate a need for follow-up tests as part of standard medical care with associated duty of care and support. The need for follow-up tests is primarily relevant for athletes who may have been registered as female at birth but who are males that have differences of male sexual development involving functioning testes, male puberty or testosterone in the male range and, therefore, male advantage, and who may be unaware of their condition.”
In the U.S., the issue of transgender participation was highlighted in women’s volleyball, with San Jose State outside hitter Blaire Fleming – who had played for the Spartan women without incident for two seasons – being singled out. Six matches were forfeited to San Jose State and seven players entered the transfer portal. The state of Texas filed suit against the NCAA for
“engaging in false, deceptive, and misleading practices by marketing sporting events as ‘women’s’ competitions only to then provide consumers with mixed sex competitions where biological males compete against biological females.”
The issue was featured during the November U.S. elections, and isn’t going away.
No. 7: The brilliance of Simone Biles, the trials of Jordan Chiles
The greatest women’s gymnast in history, American Simone Biles, returned to the Olympic Games in Paris after her difficulties in Tokyo in 2021, where she withdrew from part of the competition after experiencing the “twisties,” losing a clear idea of her physical position in the air during her routines.
Biles was once again brilliant and dominant, leading the U.S. to the Olympic team title and then winning the women’s All-Around by a huge 59.131 to 57.932 score over Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade with American teammate Suni Lee – the defending champion – third at 56.465.
In the individual finals, Biles dominated the Vault, scoring 15.300 to 14.966 for Andrade, with U.S. teammate Jade Carey third (14.466). In the Floor, Biles was favored, but two deductions for stepping out of bounds gave the gold to Andrade, 14.166 to 14.133.
In three Olympic appearances, Biles has won 11 medals (7-2-2) and has a staggering 30 World Championships medals, including 23 golds. She also has five skills named for her on Floor (2), Vault (2) and Beam (1).
The lasting controversy from Paris was also in Floor Exercise, but over the bronze medal. American Jordan Chiles was awarded the bronze during the event after her score of 13.666 was upgraded to 13.766, ahead of Romanians Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Voinea, both at 13.700.
The Romanians filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Paris and on 10 August, after a confused hearing in which the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and USA Gymnastics were not notified until the day before, the Court rescinded Chiles’ change in score – saying the appeal came too late – and awarded the bronze to Barbosu. A day later, the U.S. provided video evidence showing its challenge had come within the one-minute time limit, but the Court refused to hear anything further.
Chiles, the USOPC and USA Gymnastics filed appeals to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, where the matter sits today. Voinea also filed an appeal, saying that video evidence shows that an out-of-bounds deduction was improperly given and she should be awarded the bronze medal. A Romanian proposal for all three to share the bronze has gone nowhere.
This will get figured out in 2025.
No. 6: WADA and USADA’s war of worlds over China
On 21 April, the German ARD channel aired a documentary, “Die Akte China” – “The China Files” – which revealed that 23 world-class Chinese swimmers had tested positive for the prohibited heart medication trimetazidine at a meet in January 2021, but with no sanctions applied.
The show sparked a huge reaction, with details showing that China’s anti-doping agency had not imposed the required provisional suspensions, investigated and decided that the positive tests were due to food contamination and not doping. This was accepted by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which determined that an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport would fail. Eleven of the 23 swimmers competed at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Harsh criticism of the process followed and especially of WADA’s decision not to appeal, especially on the decision to let the CHINADA procedures stand without challenge.
U.S. Anti-Doping Agency chief Travis Tygart was the most visible critic, and had high-profile opportunities to complain, including a rare evening session of the U.S. House Energy & Committee’s sub-committee on Oversight and Investigations in June, supported by Olympic swimming stars Michael Phelps and Allison Schmitt.
In response, WADA unleashed its own barrage against USADA, and the IOC added a clause at the last moment in the Olympic Host Contract with Salt Lake City for the Olympic Winter Games in 2034 in late July, with the award of the Games to be terminated if:
“the Host Country is ruled ineligible to host or co-host and/or to be awarded the right to host or co-host the Games pursuant to or under the World Anti-Doping Code or if, in any other way, the supreme authority of the World Anti-Doping Agency in the fight against doping is not fully respected or if the application of the World Anti-Doping Code is hindered or undermined.”
This had no impact on USADA, or the U.S. Congress. WADA, under increasing pressure, commission former Swiss prosecutor Eric Cottier for a limited report on whether WADA showed bias toward China and whether the decision to appeal was “reasonable.” Cottier found for WADA on the two questions asked, but had lots of questions about its process and decision-making.
In September, WADA blasted USADA and its testing programs in a publicly-released letter to the Central European Anti-Doping Organization, with a November response from USADA Board Chair Dr. Tobie Smith that included:
“The baseless and defamatory claims outlined in your letter and the CEADO letter are being revealed for what they are – a politically motivated diversion to undermine the credibility of USADA and to attempt to weaken trust in the U.S. sports governance at the very time the world is demanding answers from you as to why you allowed China to violate the rules.”
The USADA’s status is under review by WADA’s Compliance Review Committee and WADA has said it has filed a defamation suit against USADA. Despite efforts to calm the situation, there is no resolution in sight.
Coming tomorrow: the top five Olympic-world stories of 2024!
Rich Perelman
Editor
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