Sport in 2024: the moments that made us smile

Writers recall their memorable occasions over the past year, from fraternity in the F1 paddock to an indiscreet moment in the darts

Ni, 61, holds court in Paris

You hear all sorts of whispers at the Olympics; my favourite this year was about the 61-year-old grandmother Ni Xialian, who had an outside shot in the women’s table tennis. She won world titles for China in the early 1980s, then fell in love with another player, Tommy Danielsson, and moved to Luxembourg to run a hotel. She still plays and at this year’s Games she won her first match but lost to the world champion in the second. Afterwards, she spent a happy hour offering life advice to the assembled press. “I was worried if I was good enough, but if you never play, you’ll never know,” she said, “and as I always say: ‘I’m always younger today than I will be tomorrow.’” Andy Bull

Squash critic’s painful moment

I was in Surrey for a semi-professional squash tournament at a rather high-class country club, accompanying a good friend with plans to catch only a couple of matches. We ended up staying the entire day, bouncing between courts to watch as much action as possible. My highlight? A match between two talented juniors. The man to my left – a regular watcher – spent the entire game explaining in great detail how one of them was a prodigy with a terrible attitude. Apparently, the kid was a hothead, constantly swearing, refusing to finish games, and arguing with anyone in earshot. At match point, after a nail-biting rally, he won and the woman sitting to my right nearly burst my eardrum with a scream of joy. Turns out she was his mother, and had overheard every criticism. The look on the man’s face had me biting my cheek to stop me from laughing. Yara El-Shaboury

Palmer keeps his head amid mayhem

Cole Palmer’s reputation for nonchalance, for having ice in his veins, is well earned. But who did not smile at his reaction to the brawl at the end of his Chelsea team’s 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge in October? When the visiting substitute Neco Williams barged Marc Cucurella into the Chelsea manager, Enzo Maresca, it all kicked off, players and staff from both sides pushing, shoving and generally being angry. Palmer merely popped himself down on the turf, his slow rock back before coming to a motionless seated position the equivalent of a yawn. He took it in from the periphery. All that was missing was the popcorn. David Hytner

Hassan’s marathon milestone in Paris

Covering the women’s marathon live and watching Sifan Hassan’s emotional finish to claim the gold medal was such a special moment as she became the first woman to win medals in the 5,000, 10,000 and the marathon at a single Olympics. Her elation was utterly infectious and it was my highlight of the Olympics, which was full of heartwarming moments. Her post-race interview was also full of joy, which made it impossible not to smile at her achievement. She said: “It is unbelievable. I have never experienced anything like that.” An inspirational athlete for the next generation. Sarah Rendell

Klopp’s reign ends: smiling because it happened

All good things come to an end but some good things end too soon, as Liverpool supporters can attest, having had to deal with Jürgen Klopp’s departure this year. The German’s announcement in late January that he was leaving the club after nine years in charge came as a shock and made the remainder of the season an emotionally draining experience, culminating in Klopp’s final game – the visit of Wolves to Anfield on the last day of the campaign. Entering the ground, I wasn’t the only one who wanted to be anywhere else. It was all too much. All too upsetting. But then came the transformation of a wake into a party as Klopp said goodbye in the only way he knew how – with a big grin, a few laughs and a few fist-pumps. It was perfect, and walking away from Anfield that afternoon another saying came to mind: don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened. Danke Jürgen. Sachin Nakrani

Action hero Kim aims high

A definition of aura in the dictionary might as well have an illustration of Kim Ye-ji next to it. The iconic video of the South Korean shooter at the 25m pistol final at the ISSF World Cup has to be my sporting highlight of 2024. The backwards cap, the flip of cyberpunk-style shooting glasses and the general display of nonchalance at setting a world record encouraged someone on X to say: “She should be cast in an action movie. No acting required!” The best part of the story is that she did. Kim played an assassin in Crush. Xaymaca Awoyungbo

The enduring magic of Marta

Watching the Brazil great Marta roll back the years as she twisted her way through the Kansas City Current defence in October to help fire her Orlando Pride side to the NWSL playoff finals, putting four opponents on their backsides in the process, it was impossible not to crack a smile. It was not only a mesmerising goal but also fitting that this iconic player and formerly the best player in the world, who had spent eight years with the same club without seeing silverware, should score such a goal on her way to the NWSL title. Tom Garry

The roar that greeted Duplantis’s record

I didn’t actually see Armand Duplantis set the pole vault world record in Paris. Hearing it was enough to serve as a moment in time. He had been making a mockery of the competition all evening at the Stade de France and the creation of history felt inevitable. I was running down an internal stairwell, bound for the Olympic mixed zone, to grab some pre-deadline quotes from another athlete, when the shuddering roar went up. I knew precisely, instantly, what it was: Duplantis had cleared 6.25m. Footballers can receive adulation like that every week. Duplantis has such brief spells in the public consciousness. The sound, the scale of reception that met his marquee moment, was worth a smile. Ewan Murray

Risking safety while hailing Hodgkinson

Like millions of others across the globe, I was struck by Olympic fever this summer. From skateboarding to BMX, diving to gymnastics – whatever the sport, I probably had it on my TV screen at some point in July and August. But one moment captivated me more than any other – Keely Hodgkinson’s 800m gold medal. Having spent the whole day in London, I had to watch on my phone … while stepping off the train and walking across the car park of my local station. Of course, for safety reasons I wouldn’t recommend it, but I wasn’t going to miss GB’s first Olympic track title in eight years. Emillia Hawkins