Top 12 sporting moments in 2016

It’s always “lekker” when the Proteas win. But it is beyond extraordinary when our cricket team humiliates the Aussies both home and away. Faf du Plessis lead the Proteas to a convincing 5-0 win in the ODI series followed by a 2-1 Test series victory Down Under.

The country stood in unison as Mokgadi Caster Semenya once again made headlines ahead of the 2016 Rio Olympics. However, like a true champion, Semenya went on to win gold in the 800m regardless of questions about her gender.

Records are made to be broken. This proved to be the case as Wayde van Niekerk engraved his name in the history books when he broke Michael Johnson’s 400m record at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The South African cruised over the finishing line in 43.03 seconds.

Usain Bolt proved that lighting does strike thrice. He won three gold medals in consecutive Olympics (100m, 200m and the 4x100). – clarify, was it three in three, which Olympics?

Even though the Blitzboks did not do as well as expected at the 2016 Rio Olmpics, the South Africans secured a bronze medal. For that we applaud them.

Not all things in our list will leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling. The Springboks’ dismal performances in 2016 left much to be desired. The Boks lost to Wales (13-27), Italy (18-20), England (21-37), New Zealand (15-57 and (13-41), Australia (17-23), Argentina (24-26) and Ireland (20-26).

We were sad to learn of Nico Rosberg’s retirement from Formula 1. The German deservedly won the 2016 World Drivers' Championship after a fierce competition with his Mercedes GP teammate, Lewis Hamilton.

The Lions surprised everyone in the 2016 Super Rugby season. The Gauteng-based franchise made it all the way to the final of the competition (unfortunately losing out to the Hurricanes in the final). As a result, rugby pundits have called for the Boks to play “Lions Rugby”.

Mamelodi Sundowns won the Caf Champions League, becoming only the second South African team do so. The first being Orlando Pirates.

Andy Murray secured a number one ranking in the world. His remarkable feat was achieved after he beat Novak Djokovic at the 2016 ATP World Tour Finals, with the straight set victory nogal.

Portugal reached the summit of the European football by winning their maiden UEFA European Championship title.

Leicester City might be at the bottom of the Premier League currently, but let’s not forget that they surprised everyone when they were crowned league champions earlier this year. And also, the Foxes have exceeded expectation in the 2016/17 Champions League and have advanced to the Group of 16 stage of the tournament.