The year 2012 was another great year for sports.
The Olympics returned to the sports capital of the world and Spain won another
football championship. It was a year that saw some extraordinary performances which begged the question to be asked again, “Is there anything impossible for
a human to achieve?” Here’s my list of the Top 5 Sportsperson of the year.
Share your views as well.
5. Sebastian Vettel:
At no.5 is Sebastian
Vettel, the youngest men to become three-time Formula one champion. The 2012 F1
season started with a bang and ended likewise. When the first seven races of
the championship saw seven different winners including surprise package
‘madman’ Pastor Maldonado winning the Spanish Grand Prix everyone knew that
this season the championship will go to the wire and may well see more than 3
drivers fighting for the top position come 25th November and the
Brazilian GP at Interlagos. The championship did go to the wire but only two
were in contention, both brilliant drivers, both double world champions and
both looking for third title. Alonso was quicker off the blocks and considering
the fact that he was driving an under-performing Ferrari, it was highly
praiseworthy. The two time defending world champion Sebastian Vettel was way
down the pack. And when he finished a lowly 22nd in the 13th
round at Monza, he was way down at 4th position in the leader-board.
But that was perhaps the turning point because after that he never looked back.
He won the next four races at Singapore, Japan, Korea and India and by the time
they went to the Yas Marina Circuit on 4th November he was 13 points
clear of his closest rival Alonso in the championship standing. This was a
remarkable comeback and one of the best in modern F1 history. A 3rd
place finish at Yas Marina and a 2nd place finish behind Hamilton in
Austin, Texas meant that Vettel went into the final race at Interlagos
maintaining a 13 point advantage from Alonso. But then what’s an F1 race
without drama. Vettel started from 4th position on the grid but when
he was hit by Bruno Senna in turn 4 of the 1st lap, the world seemed
to have come crashing down for Vettel. He dropped back to 22nd and
suddenly the World Championship looked like a distant dream. But then again
this is F1 and this is Interlagos, nothing goes as per script, in-fact there is
no script. Rain, accidents, safety cars, drive-through penalty, all conspired
against Alonso winning his 3rd championship and by the time Vettel
crossed the chequered flag just ahead of his inspiration Michael Schumacher, he
knew he had done it. For all of Alonso’s hard work and perseverance with an
under-performing car, it was one again the young German with a “billion-dollar
smile” who had done it. People have said that Vettel can only drive from the
front, he only knows how to drive the best car, he is useless in pressure
situation. Well, this time he did shut-up all his critics, all those who felt
he was just a lucky winner. He achieved a feat that no other driver in the
world had ever achieved at such a young age and he did it in style and with a
certain amount of swagger. And as Christian Horner, the Red Bull team Boss
said, “You’re the world champion, you’re
the triple world champion! Sebastian Vettel, you are the man.”
4. Lionel Messi:
91! Yes 91, that’s the number of
goals Leo Messi has scored in 2012. According to FIFA statistics, he breaks the
long-standing record of 85 goals in a calendar year achieved by Gerd Muller in
1972. Well, the Zambians disagree though. They say it’s 116 goals (or 107,
whomever you want to believe) scored by the legendary Zambian Godfrey Chitalu
in the same calendar year in which Gerd Muller achieved his phenomenal record
of 85 goals, 1972. Let’s just leave the
talks of record for a minute and celebrate the genius of Messi for now.
Personally, I have long been a critic of Messi and maybe I will remain so in
future as well but that doesn’t take-away anything from the fact that Lionel
Messi is one of the greatest sportsperson to have set his feet on earth. When
Argentina were humiliated by the Germans in South Africa a couple of years ago,
that was my ‘I told you so’ moment. Even today if you ask me, If Leo Messi is
the greatest footballer of all-time? My answer will be No. Is he the greatest
of his generation? Maybe Yes or perhaps No, I will still like to see more
before I pass a definitive judgement. But one thing I am certain of, what Messi
has achieved this year is a super-human effort and one that would perhaps
require another extraordinarily consistent genius to surpass it. Messi might
play for the greatest football team on earth at this moment, he may play with
players who are no less talented than he is, he may play in a team that will
provide him with infinite goal scoring opportunities but that doesn’t take anything away
from the fact that Leo Messi is a genius par excellence, a man born to play
football. When Babe Ruth scored 54 home-runs some 90 years ago, he had more HRs
than almost every other baseball team
in US that year except perhaps one. This is an achievement of that magnitude.
Putting things into perspective in today’s world where football has become
hyper-competitive and where the footballers are the most athletic bunch of
humans in the planet, Messi’s achievement is not just phenomenal but insanely
superhuman. Let’s just take away all the goals from him for a moment, what’s
Messi’s aura, what’s his genius, what’s his magic? Well, Messi drives people
into stadiums, he makes young kids follow football in a country which treats
cricket as a religion and that for me is his aura, that’s his genius, that’s
his magic. Messi has now won three consecutive Ballon d’or, the greatest
individual honour a footballer can dream of. But the hunger and desire is still
on. And that’s what makes him so great. The frightening thing is, he is still just
25. He is no Pele, he is no Maradona, he is just Lionel Messi. And in Arsene
Wenger’s words, “He’s like a playstation.”
[NB: Even in playstation, I haven’t been able to make a player score 91 goals
in a year. You can either blame me or praise Messi.]
{N.B.
Messi isn’t 4th on the list because of any biasness I have against
him. But it’s because I believe that he can himself overshadow this achievement
of his, there is still lot more to come from him. As for the top three, some of
the feats may actually go unmatched for generations to come. Again, I have
nothing but utmost respect for Lionel Messi and his achievements.}
3. Team Europe – Ryder Cup
"Football
isn't a matter of life and death – it’s much more important than that!" Bill Shankly once
famously remarked. Well, I would like to extend it a bit further. Sports isn’t
a matter of life and death, I assure you it’s much more important than that.
Only sports can provide us with unadulterated excitement with its unscripted
drama. It brings out all the human emotions to the forefront and that’s why we
love it. For a sports addict, the win of an underdog or the sight of improbable
comeback becoming true is the ultimate high. And this year’s Ryder cup provided
one such moment, a moment to cherish for life-time. When Jose Maria Olazabal’s
Team Europe lifted the famous Ryder cup, there was a sense of disbelief and a
sense of pure and unadulterated joy to go alongside it in the Medinah Country
Club. To understand these emotions and excitement we have to go to the start of
the day. It was Sunday, the 31st of September 2012, the final day of
the 39th Ryder Cup in the greens of Medinah Country Club, Illinois.
The Europeans were trailing by 10-6, the Americans required just four and half
out of the possible 12 points available that day to complete a routine victory.
Never in the 85 years of Ryder cup history has a lead so large been blown away.
But everything was about to change in the most dramatic of fashions. First
there was the Rory McIlroy story. McIlroy was running late and if not for the
Illinois state police, he would certainly have missed the start of the day.
The police used their siren to get the world no.1 through the Medinah traffic
and drop him at the venue with 10 minutes to spare. He hardly hit any practice
shot. But when he defeated Keegan Bradley 2-1, the Europeans were just trailing
by 10-9 with Luke Donald and Paul Lawrie already having cut the American lead
to just two points. And when Ian Poulter went 2-0 up against Webb Simpson, the
Europeans were all but there, the magical comeback was well on its way. Poulter
hadn’t won a tournament since May of last year but being the Captain’s pick, he
amply justified his selection. But little did he know that this was going to be
one of the greatest days in his life. Poulter’s win wasn’t the end though, the
Americans came back strongly taking the next point when Dustin Johnson beat the
Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts 3-2. The twists and turns didn’t end just there. The
European hit back at once when Justin Rose hit a couple of audacious putts to
defeat the former world no.1 Phil Mickelson. The tales of leads and comebacks
continued till the German Martin Kaymer took on Steve Stricker in the
penultimate round of the day. The two teams were locked on 13 points but the
pressure on each guy was immeasurable. Kaymer had been out of form all summer
and may well have proved a liability but as they say, trust a German to deliver
when you need it the most and deliver, he did. When Kaymer sank a 5-ft putt in the
18th green, the Europeans knew in their hearts that the trophy was
theirs again. By hitting that shot Kaymer not only gave the Europeans a
decisive 14-13 lead but perhaps also laid the ghosts of compatriot Bernhard
Langer’s miss some 21 years ago to rest. It wasn’t the end though, Tiger
was still to play. All the Americans hope now lied with their once favourite
son. The great Tiger Woods took on the not so great Italian Francesco Molinari.
Molinari must have been nervous like hell but he stayed with Tiger throughout
till the final green when the great Tiger Woods did succumb to pressure hitting
a bogey. That was the moment for the Europeans, Tiger and Molinari shared
spoils but the Europeans had completed one of the most incredible comebacks in
sports history. These 12 men had not only made a whole continent proud, but
also the soul of Seve Ballesteros. As Olazabal said, “Seve will always be
present with this team.” And that is perhaps the greatness of legends, they not
only inspire you when they are alive but they can inspire you long after they
have gone as well.
I was never an avid fan of golf
until I actually saw the great Tiger Woods in action against Rocco Mediate in
US Open 2008. Somewhere the sports-addict inside me said, Golf is worth
watching and I am thankful that I listened to my inner voiceJ.
2. Michael Phelps
Samuel Taylor Coleridge in his
famous poem ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ writes, “Water, water everywhere; And all the boards did shrink; Water, water
everywhere; Nor a drop to drink.” Well, perhaps Coleridge’s sailors weren’t
as good swimmers as one Michael Phelps is. By the time Phelps came for his
final press conference at London 2012, he was already the most successful
Olympian ever with 18 Gold medals and 22 medals in total. He is perhaps the
greatest Olympian of all-time but this is the not the place for that debate,
this is the place to just salute the genius that Michael Phelps is. When
Michael Phelps and Team USA won the gold in 4x100 mts medley relay in Beijing
that was it, that was the moment when Phelps won his 8th Gold in a
single Olympics and broke the long-standing record of 7 Golds held by his
compatriot Mark Spitz since 1972. It was the ultimate achievement and as
spectators every-one of us believed that it may just be the final time we see
the great Michael Phelps competing in the Olympics. After-all, where would he
find the motivation to jump into the pool again after achieving what can
arguably be called the ‘Mount Everest’ of swimming. But Phelps as do most great
men knew that it wasn’t over, the chapter was still unfinished. And when
he came back to London this year, in his sight was the all-time Olympics record
of 18 medals held by the former Soviet Union gymnast Larisa Latynina. For
Phelps that was his Mount Everest. With his tally standing at 16 medals (14
Golds, 2 Bronzes), he was agonizingly close to the record but this time even
Phelps knew that it wasn’t going to be as easy as in Beijing and trust me when
I say, it wasn’t. On 28th July, 2012 Phelps took on to the pool to
swim in his first finals of this year’s event, the 400 mts individual medley,
an event where he holds both the Olympic and the World record but there was no
happy endings this time around. Not only did he not win Gold, he even missed
out on a podium finish. The going was getting tougher. His first medal, and a
Silver it was came in the 4x100 mts freestyle relay, the next night. Phelps had
opened his account, the record was a mere medal away but he knew that he has to
be at his best because this year’s line-up was one of the most competitive
ever. 31st July, 2012 was the D-day, Phelps had made it to the
finals in two events and finally the record was in-sight. He equalled it when he
won the Silver in the 200 mts butterfly losing Gold to the South African
youngster Chad Le Clos by just 0.05 of a second. And finally he broke that long
standing record of 18 medals when he and Team USA won the gold in 4x200 mts
Freestyle relay. Finally, Phelps was in uncharted territory but one that he and
alone he can claim to be his own. Phelps had done it, he was at the top of
Mount Everest but the hunger and desire to win was still on. The confidence was
back, the smile was back. And he knew that anything he achieves now won’t just
be a bonus but another extra mile for the next great athlete who desires to
break his record. I don’t know how Phelps felt at that moment but if I were
him, I would have felt like the whole world is under my feet. A couple of days
later he beat his compatriot and fiercest competitor Ryan Lochte in the 200 mts
individual medley and in the process became the first man to win Gold in the
same event in three consecutive Olympics. A few more records were also broken
in that process. Suddenly it looked like breaking records had become a mundane
affair for the Baltimore Bullet. And when he won Gold medals in both the 100
mts butterfly and the 4x100 mts Medley relay, his tally stood at 22 Medals (18
Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze). He was now the most decorated Olympian ever. He was
in a league of his own. After the wins when Phelps came to the press conference
and announced that this was going to be his last Olympics, he wasn’t the only
one who had tears in his eyes. The whole sporting fraternity and the sports
loving public knew that this was the end of one of the greatest sporting careers,
there would never be another Michael Phelps. And at the end of it all here’s a
memorable quote from the Russian swimmer Alexander Sukhorukov on Phelps, “He may be a man but he is from a different
planet, a different galaxy.” I guess we all think that way.
1. Usain Bolt
Aldous Huxley once said, “Speed, it seems to me, provides the one
genuinely modern pleasure.” Speed, I believe has always intrigued the human
mind but at the same time it has also provided us with immeasurable thrill. And
watching Usain Bolt run gives you that same immeasurable thrill, it’s just
purely orgasmic. When I saw Usain Bolt win that Gold medal in 100 mts at Beijing
Olympics, I just said to myself, “Why did he slow down at the end? This is not
on. He has no right to make a joke of the other runners in such a fashion. This
is the fucking Olympics.” And suddenly when I saw the timing, I just went
blank. The next thought was, what he would have achieved had he kept on going
with the same pace. It was frightening to see someone perform like that on the
Olympics of all the stages. Bolt became a superstar, broke all sorts of records
and won all that was there to win. But when he returned back to London to
participate in the Olympics, he wasn’t the unbeatable Bolt, the aura of
invincibility was gone. Bolt had lost the world championship to compatriot
Yohan Blake and he was second in both the 100 mts and 200 mts in the Jamaican
trials. Suddenly, he was just like any other athlete trying to win a medal for
himself and his country. But great sportsperson never throw the towel, they
always strive to reach the end of a dark tunnel, even when we mere mortals are
lost in the darkness, because they unlike us can see the light at the end. Bolt
in his own words came to London to become a legend, to become the greatest
athlete ever. The goal was set and the quest began in earnest. The Men’s 100
meters sprint is always the showcase event of any athletics championship and
more so in the Olympics and the winner often achieves immortality. And so there it
was, August 5, 2012, the day of the Men’s 100 mts sprint final. Bolt had qualified top
in his semi-final heat but his timings well still below that of Justin Gatlin,
the man who laid claim to the Olympic Gold before Bolt made it his own and also
Yohan Blake, Bolt’s own apprentice and his biggest competitor. The line-up for
the Finals was mouth-watering, 3 Jamaicans, 3 Americans, 1 Trinidadian and 1 Dutch
and all capable of sub-10 seconds timings. Bolt tried to look the fearless
jolly person that he is but the nervousness was palpable. You could see that
there was pressure on him, the pressure to win, the pressure to write his name
in the annals of sporting history as the greatest athlete of all-time. And the
9.63 seconds that came after the sound of the pistol is now in the folklores of
sports. He not just won the race but also set a new Olympics record. Bolt
became the first man since Carl Lewis to defend his 100 mts Gold in Olympics.
He was halfway there in achieving his desired goal. The 200 mts were up next
and nothing short of Gold would be good enough for Bolt. On 9th of
August, 2012 Bolt achieved that feat as well. This time no records were broken
but he was way ahead of the pack. He was so confident of winning that he even
slowed down towards the end. The only thing that could have given his
competitors a semblance of chance that day was if Bolt would have had a bad
start but it wasn’t to be and by the end of the turn everyone knew who the
winner would be. It was a great day for Jamaica as well as they swept the
medals with Blake coming in 2nd spot and Warren Weir completing the
podium positions. Bolt was now officially the greatest athlete, no man had ever
defended both the 100 and 200 meters sprint titles and the boy from Jamaica did
it. He went on to defend his 4 x 100 mts relay Gold as well with his Jamaican
compatriots and in the process becoming the first person to achieve the ‘Double
Triple’. London 2012 will always be remembered for two athletes, Michael Phelps
and Usain Bolt, one tested the limits of human endurance and the other tested
the limits of human abilities and the verdict was, there is no end to human
endurance and human abilities, ‘Nothing is Impossible’. As for Bolt, as he
himself said “I am the best. I am a
legend now. I am the greatest athlete there ever is.”
Sportsperson of the Year (2012): USAIN
BOLT
*Videos Courtesy Youtube
*Videos Courtesy Youtube
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