Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- In 2023, the "small year" is not "small".
Interpretation of the top 10 international sports news.
Xinhua News Agency reporters Wang Hengzhi and Wang Qinou.
Without the Olympics and the Men's World Cup, 2023 can be regarded as a "small year" for sports in the traditional sense. But when we look back at the end of the year, we find that this "small year" is not "small" - the old and strong legends and rising stars have broken records and created history again and again, and the Olympic Games and Asian Games have also opened a new chapter in this year. Below, let's start with the top ten international sports news in 2023 selected by the Sports Department of Xinhua News Agency, and take a look at the blockbuster events in the international sports world this year.
It's a year full of "firsts". In Europe, Premier League side Manchester City lifted the "Big Ears Cup" for the first time;In the United States, the "small ball club" Denver Nuggets won their first NBA championship in team history;In Asia, the Basketball World Cup, which was jointly held by many countries for the first time, also produced a "new king", and the German team, which has almost no first-line big stars, won all eight games and became the seventh team to win the World CupIn Oceania, the Women's World Cup, co-hosted by two hosts for the first time, not only set a record, but also saw Spain's first ascent to the top.
As a team that was once regarded by countless fans as a representative of "local tyrants" and "golden yuan football", it took Manchester City a full 15 years to finally prove itself in the Champions League. Manchester City's success lies more in their relentless long-termism, they have always been willing to spend money, and they have slowly learned to spend money, and they are willing to spend money on youth training, which may be the best thing for him. As for women's football, the rise of European teams such as Spain and England is completely reasonable, after all, these countries with deep football roots have begun to pay attention to women's football and force big clubs to spend money on women's football.
The basketball court of 2023 proves once again that basketball is a five-person sport. Jokic is "outrageous" in all aspects, and taking a "triple-double" is like eating and drinking, but the success of the Nuggets depends more on the "Jokic" as a center to revitalize the whole team;Under the FIBA competition system, it is obviously not feasible for many young NBA stars of the United States, Canada and other teams to solve the battle alone, so it is the German team and Serbia team that finally advance to the World Cup finals. However, the victory of the "civilian team" may not become the mainstream, and there may be a better basketball competition waiting for us at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
It was also a year to witness legends. In fact, for us who are accustomed to "chasing stars" on the court, many familiar names have not appeared on the list in 2023, but there are always some names that still shine - the 36-year-old Djokovic is still dominating the tennis world, which makes people feel sad for the men's tennis "post-90s" players, after all, the "post-00s" players have gradually grown up;Although the 36-year-old Messi no longer dominates football, he still won the eighth Ballon d'Or when he went to the Major League League, and the sunset of the "King of the Ball" will still shine on the football world in 2023;Verstappen, who is 10 years younger than them, continues to dominate Formula 1, and while many think that Formula 1 is more of a competition of new motorsport technology, Verstappen's focus and perseverance are the secret to his success, as former Formula 1 World Champion Villeneuve said.
It was a year of world records. The two basic sports of track and field and swimming broke out collectively in the year before the Olympic Games, and the world records in both events seemed to be "worthless", with 16 world records in the pool being broken, and as many as 23 world records in track and field being rewritten. At the World Swimming Championships, there were also two "three gold kings", "Frog King" Qin Haiyang and Australian women's backstroke star McKeown shared the honor. And in the track and field competition in 2023, the stars are shining brightly and each is good at winning, so that the World Athletics Federation has made it difficult to select the best athletes, and finally came up with an unprecedented six-man list.
But if we had to pick one of the bunch of awesomes and good results, we had to vote for the marathon. This year, the 24-year-old Kiptum set a new men's marathon world record with a time of 2:00:35 and became the first marathon runner in history to break 2:01 in an official race. The 29-year-old set a women's world record with a time of 2 hours, 11 minutes and 53 seconds, improving this record by more than two minutes, and the women's runner entered the "212" era. The marathon event is really a representative of "sports with infinite possibilities", and it is no wonder that it can "double blossom" in the field of competition and national people.
It was also a year full of new changes. The most important thing left to us by the Hangzhou Asian Games is not the total number of gold medals and medals that the Chinese delegation is far ahead, but the call and call to the world conveyed by the Asian Games - sports can change the world, and sports should become a link to unite the world.
The changes also come from the Olympic Games, with the addition of baseball and softball, cricket, lacrosse, squash and flag football at Los Angeles 2028. Host factors aside, the IOC's embrace of new sports seems to have never stopped, but it will take time to see if these new sports can gain a foothold at the Games. (ENDS).