ANY YEAR IN SPORT that has the summer Olympics affixed on its calendar is bound to be defined by it. For Australia, 2024 was indeed the year of Olympic glory, but there was also plenty more to cheer for.
Outside of Australia’s record-setting gold medal haul at the Paris Olympics, Australian athletes left their mark in international sport. In tennis, new stars emerged and became contenders in the biggest tournaments. In F1, we saw one fan-favourite depart, only for another to arrive and prove that he has what it takes to become a world champion. The Wallabies have given hope to fans for the first time in years, and we even have a 16-year-old sprinter who looks like he could become one of the world’s best.
From dominant world championship performances to surprising upsets, underdog stories and unbelievable comebacks, 2024 really did have it all. Here, we recap ten of the most exciting moments that will be remembered for years to come.
10. Gout Gout breaks records and looks like next Usain Bolt
This one should be fresh in your memory. Queensland teenager Gout Gout has taken the athletics world by storm with his performance at the Australian All Schools Athletics Championships. The 16-year-old ran an unofficial 10.04 in his 100m heat. Then, in the 200m, he broke Peter Norman’s 200m Australian record that has stood since 1968, running 20.04. That’s a faster time than Usain Bolt’s best effort when he was under 18 and it would have seen Gout finish fifth in last year’s World Athletics championships. It’s safe to say we’ve got a future star on our hands.
9. Alexei Popyrin becomes the first Australian man to win a Masters since Lleyton Hewitt
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Australian tennis had one of its best years in recent memory. Alex De Minaur rose to a career high ATP ranking of sixth and made the quarterfinals of three out four grand slams. Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell won the US Open doubles title. And Matt Ebden and John Peers took home gold in doubles at the Olympics. It was Alexei Popyrin, though, who had the year’s crowning moment when he won the Canadian Open. Popyrin’s win marked the first time an Australian men’s tennis player had won a Masters tournament (the second highest level of tournament on the ATP tour, behind only a grand slam) since Lleyton Hewitt in 2003.
8. The Sydney Swans get drubbed on Grand Final day… again
It has almost become inevitable for the Swans to get demolished in the AFL Grand Final. Sydney have now lost four consecutive games on the last Saturday in September. All four of those losses have been downright embarrassing, with the Swans falling to Hawthorn by 63 points in 2014, Geelong by 81 points in 2022 and Brisbane by 60 points in 2024. The team’s lone Grand Final loss that wasn’t by a sizeable margin came against the Bulldogs in 2016, but the Swans were heavily favoured in that matchup, so there was no shortage of disappointment there.
The 2024 Grand Final didn’t take long to be put beyond doubt. The Brisbane Lions jumped out to an early lead and made it an insurmountable one by half time. It wasn’t the most entertaining Grand Final in recent memory, but everyone loves an upset – except Swans fans, of course.
7. Warner’s farewell at the SCG
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One of Australia’s greatest opening batsmen was given a fitting send-off at the Sydney Cricket Ground for his final international test. In the last match of a three-match series against Pakistan, Warner scored 57, helping Australia to a clean sweep. Two matches earlier he went for 164, proving that even though he was hanging up his bat, he still had plenty of swings left in him.
6. The Wallabies beat England at Twickenham
Wallabies fans haven’t had much to cheer for in recent years as the national side has slid from a perennial powerhouse to briefly sitting outside of the top ten in the world rankings. Things are looking up though after a Northern hemisphere tour that saw the Australians defeat a number of top European teams, their biggest scalp being England. With an added-time 42-37 victory, the Wallabies made a statement, securing their first win at Twickenham since 2015.
5. Oscar Piastri wins his first F1 race
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Australian F1 fans were sad to see Daniel Ricciardo go when he was dismissed midway thought the 2024 season, but he’s stepped aside just as another Aussie is hitting his stride. Oscar Piastri showed flashes of promise during his rookie season, but it was in his second year where he really shined, with the 23-year-old winning the first race of his career at the Hungarian Grand Prix, albeit with a few complaints from teammate Lando Norris. His second win came at the Azerbaijan GP, this time with no one saying he didn’t deserve it. Piastri was also crucial in McLaren’s victory in the F1 constructor’s championship, the team’s first since 1998, as he cruised to fourth on the overall driver’s standings.
4. The Penrith Panthers win their fourth consecutive NRL premiership
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Whether you’re a diehard ‘riff supporter or never want to hear ‘up the ‘riff’ again, you have to admit the Penrith Panthers’ four-year run as the NRL’s best is seriously impressive. The Panthers have now played in five consecutive NRL Grand Finals, but 2024 was supposed to be the year they toppled from their throne. After securing consecutive minor premierships in 2022 and 2023, the Melbourne Storm ended the Panthers’ streak and looked like the biggest threat to the Western Sydney outfit in years. With star halfback Nathan Clearly dealing with injuries throughout the season, it looked like the Panthers’ reign could come to an end. But when it all came down to it, the Storm were no match for the Panthers, who completed an unprecedented four-peat.
3. The Fox sisters sweep the canoe slalom golds
We’ve tried really hard for this list to not end up as an Olympics highlight reel – which is exceedingly difficult with a campaign that saw 18 gold medals – but by combining some of these medals into a single moment, we can reach a happy compromise. The Fox sisters’ gold medals are one such amalgamation, with older sister and canoe slalom GOAT Jess first taking out the top honour in both the C1 and K1 slalom events and cementing her place as a legend of her sport.
Younger sister Noemie, meanwhile, went into Paris as a relative outsider. Her inclusion in the Olympic team was positioned as something of a feel-good story, but she wasn’t viewed as a legitimate medal threat. Prior to the Olympics, Noemie had never finished higher than fifth at a kayak cross world cup and had never won a kayak cross world cup race. None of this mattered in Paris of course, where she charged to a gold medal after winning every single race. Big sister Jess jumped onto the course in celebration while dad Richard Fox sat in the commentary box. An instant classic.
2. Our swimmers dominate the pool in Paris
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Again, we’re cheating slightly by combining multiple medal-winning moments, but there were so many memorable performances in the pool that leaving any of them off this list would be a discourtesy. Australian swimmers won 19 medals at the Paris Olympics, including seven gold. Highlights include Ariarne Titmus defending her 400m freestyle gold but losing the race of the century in the 200m freestyle to Mollie O’Callaghan, Kaylee McKeown completing a double-double by winning both the 100m and 200m backstroke at consecutive Olympics, Cam McEvoy winning the first gold medal of his career at 30 years of age in the 50m freestyle, and Emma Mckeon becoming Australia’s most decorated Olympian of all time.
1. The record-setting day 12 Olympic gold rush
There’s no familial relation or sporting similarity binding these four gold medals, but they will forever share a place in Australian history. After a strong opening week to the Paris Games, rumblings had started to emerge that a record-breaking gold medal haul was a possibility. Although, with the swimming events already wrapped up and the nation still needing another four gold medals to break the record, it was a longshot. Then, on day 12 of the Games, the gold rush came.
On the morning of August 8th, Australians awoke to the news that their athletes had won four gold medals overnight. Just after midnight, Matt Wearn won his second gold medal in the men’s laser sailing event. At around 1:30am the men’s cycling pursuit team claimed gold. Keegan Palmer added a third gold at 2am in the skateboarding park discipline. Finally, at 5:30am, Nina Kennedy won the final gold medal in the record-setting campaign, this time in pole vault. A night to remember, that’s for sure.
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