Apologies for the late announcement. It being such a sad and difficult year for so many suffering directly or indirectly from the Covid pandemic, we have also limited our annual top sportsmanship stories to five top stories this year. We also had to cancel our annual BBC Radio London interview announcing the Top 5. You can hear previous Top Ten stories on BBC Radio London by selecting the Videos and Radio tab and scroll to down to the radio interviews after the videos. You can also read previous years by just inserting ‘Top 10’ into our search engine or just click here. So sit back and enjoy our Top 5 2020 sportsmanship stories.
In 5th Place Cricket: Australia v India
11 December: India’s Mohammed Siraj won many hearts when he immediately dropped his bat and ran to help the young Australian bowler, Cameron Green, after suffering a direct hit on the head from the Indian batsman Jasprit Bumrah who smashed the ball straight at the bowler & hit him full-on in the face. It was horrific. The other batsman Siraj, who was at the non-striker’s end, immediately dropped his bat and sprinted to help the 21-year-old Australian bowler lying sprawled on the ground. Fortunately, Green recovered, and play continued.
In 4th Place: Football/Politics/Socio-Economics
16 June: From Liverpool With Love to Man United Fans
Arch Rival Liverpool FC, paid tribute to Manchester United’s young striker, Marcus Rashford who singlehandedly forced the UK government to not stop giving poor families free kids’ lunches (June 2020).
Marcus Rashford plays for Manchester United and England. His impact and influence are felt beyond sports and into the world of politics, socioeconomics & kindness. He pioneered a campaign to ensure that children in poverty still get free food after school term ends. He made Boris Johnson’s government reverse their decision and help feed millions of kids. Liverpool football club acknowledged his incredible work and thanked him publicly. Liverpool FC tweeted: Children in our region will benefit because of the actions of this remarkable role model. From Liverpool with love.
In 3rd Place: Snooker
14 August: British 28-year-old breaks down in tears amidst semi-final – not after being beaten, but after being lucky, with a fluke shot. Kyren Wilson broke down during World Snooker Championship Semi-Final in August after a fluke pot in the 33rd and final frame of this epic match ending 17-16 in favour of Wilson. The video shows him moved to tears as he apologised to his opponent, Anthony McGill, for the fluke shot. “I didn’t want to send someone home on a fluke,” said Wilson afterwards who also praised the brilliant play of his defeated Scottish opponent. McGill congratulated Wilson warmly at the end of what one commentator called ‘the greatest game of snooker the Crucible has ever seen’. 17-16 honour amongst snooker’s finest.
In 2nd Place: Rugby: New Zealand All Blacks
28 November: AB pay respects to the Argentinian rugby team as the Kiwis laid down a black New Zealand shirt with the number 10 on it and the name of the great Argentinian footballing hero, Maradona, who had died 3 days earlier. Interestingly, the Argentinians had just beaten the ABs for the first time ever 10 days earlier. A lovely gesture from a different sport and country to another country’s sports hero.
In 1st Place: Boxing in November: Spain’s Miriam Gutierrez (Nov)
14 November: After being comprehensively beaten for ten rounds by Ireland’s lightweight world champion, Katie Taylor, the brave Spaniard, Miriam Gutierrez, at the end of the fight, helped Taylor hold up her four world champion belts. There was mutual respect as both women grinned as Taylor held up her two belts and Gutierrez held up the other two of Taylor’s belts – as they shared the photo opportunity – a magical moment of mutual respect, friendship & fun. You can see it in the wonderful photo below.
