Golden Moments

FROM DARTS PRODIGIES TO TENNIS LEGENDS, ELEANOR CROOKS RECALLS A SPORTING YEAR TO REMEMBER...

- Eleanor Crooks

PARIS was at the centre of the sporting world in 2024 as the Olympics and Paralympics put on a show.

After the Covid-enforced delay and restrictions imposed on Tokyo, the French capital embraced its freedoms with an ambitious river-based opening ceremony and venues that made use of the city's famous sites.

The crowds brought enthusiasm and joie de vivre and were rewarded by a star turn from home hero Leon Marchand, who sped to four gold medals in the pool.

The British Paralympic team finished a clear second in the medal table behind China, while the likes of Keely Hodgkinson, Alex Yee and the rowing team shone at the Olympics, but a gold shortage saw Team GB relegated to seventh.

A few weeks earlier, England's men came agonisingly close again to a first major trophy since 1966.

They scraped through the rounds at the European Championship in Germany, making it all the way to the final, where they were narrowly beaten 2-1 by Spain.