If you eat, sleep and breathe sports, you should definitely check out these top 5 sports personalities who made news in the year 2012.
1. Usain Bolt (Sprint/running)
Dubbed the fastest man in the world, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has been nicknamed ‘lightning bolt’ and with good reason. The current world record holder in 4×100 meters relay, the 200 meters and 100 meter dashes, the multiple Olympic gold medalist took broke his own world record at the 2012 London Summer Olympics’ 100-metre event finishing the run in just 9.63 seconds.
2. Novak Djokovic (Tennis)
Ranked the World No. 1 by the ATP in 2011 and 2012, Serbian professional tennis playerNovak Djokovic holds several world records in men’s Open tournaments including all the Grand Slam titles. He has also won ATP World Tour Masters 1000 series games 31 times consecutively.
3. Sachin Tendulkar (Cricket)
One of the greatest batsmen of all time, Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar is known even in regions of the world that aren’t familiar with the game of cricket. Tendulkar recently retired from ODIs though his current career batting average in test cricket is 54.68 which he earned playing in over 193 Tests since his debut in 1989. He is also the highest scorer in test cricket history with a remarkable 15,638 runs to his name.
4. Lionel Messi (Football)
An FC Barcelona regular, Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi has won the FIFA World Player of the Year (Ballon d’Or) four times consecutively since 2009. Noted for his incredible accuracy, trick shots, unselfish play and ball handling; Messi set a new record for most goals in a calendar year scoring 91 times in 2012.
5. Manny Pacquiao (Boxing)
Filipino professional boxer Manny Pacquiao is one of the world’s “best conditioned athletes” and is also known as the finest pound-for-pound boxer on the planet. With 2 draws and 4 losses, his current pro boxing record stands at 54 wins, a staggering 38 of which were achieved through knockouts.
