2103’s Best in Sport
Sport-for-sport, gender-for-gender, pound-for-pound, Steve Dawson ranks 2013’s top 10 players, fighters, runners, jumpers, batters, throwers, riders and drivers, then makes bold predictions about their 2014.
10th Serena Williams (tennis)
Having won two grand slam tournaments in 2013, at 32, Serena will win another couple this coming year, in Melbourne and New York. Don’t be surprised if she misses Roland Garros to prepare for Wimbledon.
9th Rafael Nadal (tennis)
Nadal’s inspiring comeback from injury doesn’t banish any future issues with those troublesome knees. Despite winning at Roland Garros and the US Open, those knees have already done so much to rob the world of the best player ever. He’ll win at Roland Garros in 2014 and get to the final in New York.
8th LeBron James (basketball)
“Not one, not two…” LeBron claimed when predicting how many championships he would win with the Miami Heat. But after winning in 2013, they won’t get three. James will still be the league’s best player in 2014 but will start next season at a new franchise, probably the Los Angeles Lakers and possibly the New York Knicks.
7th Floyd Mayweather (boxing)
The best boxer of his generation will stay on top in 2014. If he doesn’t fight Manny Pacquiao during that time, he never will. If the fight does happen, Mayweather will win. But it will be two years too late for fight fans to unequivocally give ‘Money May’ the credit he longs for. Five years from now, we should be looking back on three Mayweather-Pacquiao super fights, but boxing doesn’t always give the fans what they want.
6th Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (athletics)
The pocket rocket from Jamaica is a delight to watch and even more delightful to listen to when she talks to the media with that winning smile. She’s also the fastest woman on the planet, having won the world 100m and 200m titles in 2013. 2014 is that one year in four, devoid of an Olympics or World Championships. So, the 27-year old will have to be content with dominating the IAAF Diamond League events, which she will.
5th Mo Farah (athletics)
Like Fraser-Pryce, Farah doubled up at the World Championships in Moscow, but historically, winning the 5,000m and 10,000m has always been a bigger ask than taking both sprint titles. His natural speed and acquired stamina are a lethal combination for opponents to take on. In 2014, Mo will have a quiet year, contemplating a switch to marathons and dabbling in a fascinating challenge for charity against Usain Bolt (see below), probably over 500m.
4th Sebastian Vettel (motor racing)
A big factor in ranking a Formula 1 driver among other sports people is the car. Would another top F1 pilot have achieved four consecutive titles with a chassis designed by Red Bull’s Adrian Newey? The answer, I’m convinced, is that they would have had a pretty good shot. Vettel’s relative achievements, while arguably on a par with other multiple world champions in this list, must therefore be discounted. In 2014, who knows what Newey will put under Vettel’s seat. We’ll only find out in March.
3rd Lionel Messi (football)
The Argentine has been the best at the world’s most popular game for at least four years. As you read this, we are at a pivotal moment in his career. Messi is injured, but more pertinently, he’s being eclipsed by a man who’s been second best for so long (see below). Ironically, just as this apparent decline seems about to set in, 2014 will be his greatest year. With a World Cup held in his own continent, Argentina have the team to win the whole thing, with Messi the star among stars.
2nd Usain Bolt (athletics)
What raises Bolt’s accomplishments above Fraser-Pryce and Farah is his potential to do even more. His freakish, natural gifts mean he can do in the long jump and 400m, something like what he’s done in the 100m and 200m. His desire and work ethic are the main concerns for such lofty heights. 2014 is a quiet year in track and field. It could be the most important of his career. How he uses the downtime will determine his legacy. Sadly, I think he’ll take it easy, then come back in 2015 to do what he’s already done and nothing more.
1st Cristiano Ronaldo (football)
What a wasteful, brash, in-need-of-coaching youngster he was when Manchester United first showcased him on their grand scale. What a prolific, consistent, hard-working tour de force he has become. In 2014 he’ll be 29. It will be another great year, but no better than the great year of 2013. Portugal don’t have the squad to take him to the World Cup glory that his nemesis Lionel Messi can attain. But to the names Pele, Maradona, and Messi we can assuredly now add Ronaldo: The greatest European player of all time, arguably the world’s best ever.
Gulasahi's Blog 