Here are the Top 10 moments from 2018 – in reverse order. Part 1 covers 10th best moment to 6th best moment and [Part 2] covers 5th best to 1st best moment of sportsmanship from 2018. BBC Radio London also recorded these stories with me and you can [hear the BBC radio interview here] please note there is a 7 second delay at the start.
10th Football: 2018 World Cup Football in Russia
The 10th best moment this year was captured by a great photograph of fans from Colombia and Mexico lifting a disabled Egyptian fan in his wheelchair so that he can see Egypt playing on the big screen in the fan zone area.
A proud Egyptian (in the wheelchair), waving his flag whilst held aloft by Mexican and Colombian fans. It’s a beautiful moment.
9th Rugby: Post-Match Kiwi Tweet to Irish Victor
I was in Dublin when Ireland beat the All Blacks in November. It was 80 minutes of the most intense test rugby I have ever seen. I was also lucky enough to be in Chicago two years ago when we beat them for the first time (in 111 of trying). But this game in Dublin was so intense It was a savage man-to-man battle that raged for 80+ minutes……like 80 minutes of common assault.
After this intense battle TJ Perenara (number 21), who leads the Haka, tweeted a beautiful message to Ireland’s Kiwi-born centre, Bundee Aki:
Nothing but love my brother @bundeeAki. Congrats to you and the team. Looking forward to the next one bro.
8th ATHLETICS Young American Refuses Shot Putt Qualification for the Regionals
This is a story about an ordinary 17 year old American schoolboy, Davis Robey, who throws the shot put (one of the original Ancient Olympic sports) for Mason High School and dreams of one day qualifying for the Ohio Regionals.
An official scorer announced Robey in fourth place with a throw of 137 feet. He’d finally qualified for the Regionals. But Robey refused as he knew he only threw 132 foot.h
He alerted the judges to the error and forfeited his dream of competing in the Regionals.
A sound young man who places integrity above ‘success’ and even such a young age, Davis Robey is an icon of sportsmanship.
7th TENNIS Superstar Urges Sports People to Use Their Power To Influence & Inspire Others
Billy Jean King, American former World No. 1 professional tennis player (39 Grand Slam titles) and an activist who fought for equal rights for all.
When she received her Lifetime Achievement Award from BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year Award, a week ago, Billy Jean said that ‘everyone is an influencer and that, in particular, sports people are influencers. She went on and urged all sportsmen and sportswomen to use their influence to inspire other people.
Even at 75 years of age, Billy Jean King is still an activist, still encouraging others to stand up for equal rights for all.
6th BOXING: When The Going Gets Tough, Heavyweight Helps Mental Health Sufferers
This is an example of a sportsperson influencing & inspiring. Just a few weeks ago, Tyson Fury was knocked down in the final round and somehow managed to beat the count and get back on his feet. Why or how did he get back up? Here’s his answer:
Many men would have stayed down after getting knocked down by Deontay Wilder, but, I wanted to show the world that anything was possible. And no matter what you’ve been through in your life and no matter what you are going through, you always…always must continue to get up and keep going forward and fight back.
We need to spread the word about mental health – more – in sport, because there’s a lot of people still living in darkness and afraid to come out and speak about it publicly, but if I can do it, a big heavyweight champion of the world, 6’9” 18 stone – I’m supposed to be a big tough guy, anybody can do it. Anybody can come out and get help, for sure. Get professional help.
An extraordinary message of hope from a big heavyweight boxer to anyone suffering from mental health issues – never give up and get professional help.
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[Part 2 here]
contains the 5th best to number 1 sportsmanship moment from 2018 and it really is something extraordinarily beautiful gesture made by a professional sports person……
You can also listen to these stories on
[the BBC Radio interview here]
(please note there is a 7 second delay at the start).