2024 in pictures: Best sporting moments of the year

Reuters

The moon is pictured with the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic GamesKai Pfaffenbach / Reuters

In a year marked by sporting brilliance, champions old and new captivated audiences and pushed the limits of human endurance. Reuters photographers were on hand to capture some of the most memorable moments.

The stand-out event of the year was the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris from July to September, where the City of Love's iconic landmarks provided a spectacular backdrop for the sport.

French swimmer Leon Marchand, US gymnast Simone Biles, and Dutch runner Sifan Hassan were some of the stars whose remarkable performances will be remembered for years to come, while a gender eligibility dispute involving boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting sparked some controversy at the quadrennial event.

The fastest man on Earth was American Noah Lyles, edging out his competitors in the closest-ever Olympics 100-metre final by five thousandths of a second. The world's best surfers rode their waves to glory in Tahiti, some 16,000 km (10,000 miles) from Paris.

From Reuters, 67 photographers were on Olympics duty - the agency's most diverse team ever assembled for a major event, with a near 50-50 gender split and photographers from five continents.

The ever-popular sport of football still managed to capture headlines over a busy summer. Spain triumphed at Euro 2024, beating England in the final, and Lionel Messi's Argentina made history as they won a record 16th Copa America title. Manchester City won their fourth straight Premier League title and Liverpool fans said a sad farewell to their popular manager Jurgen Klopp.

In tennis, one of the sport's all-time greats, Spain's Rafael Nadal, bid an emotional farewell, while Italy's Jannik Sinner experienced a year of highs and lows, winning two Grand Slam titles but also grappling with the fallout from a failed doping test. He was cleared of wrongdoing.

In the world of motorsport, Charles Leclerc celebrated a boyhood dream by winning Formula 1's showcase Monaco Grand Prix, while Max Verstappen went on to win a fourth straight Formula 1 championship. Francesco Bagnaia was unable to defend his MotoGP crown and finished second-best in a thrilling battle with Jorge Martin.

Here are some of those stories and more on camera: