Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
2016 will be remembered as one that has re-shaped the face of international sport.
State-sponsored doping, corruption within governing bodies and the sexual abuse of young footballers and gymnasts are all issues that will linger into 2017 and beyond but will force a shift in policies and procedures that will endure for generations.
Even the hacking of the World Anti-Doping Agency database by the Fancy Bears will no doubt ensure there is scrutiny of and refinements made to the procedures associated with Therapeutic Use Exemptions, particularly given the ongoing furore surrounding Sir Bradley Wiggins and his use of them on the way to winning Le Tour and Olympic Gold in 2012.
The music industry has lost a number of greats this past year although it is not alone. Sport has had to wave goodbye to Muhammad Ali, Johan Cruyff and Arnold Palmer, each of whom transcended their own sport and created legions of fans around the globe.
The Ali shuffle, Cruyff turn and Arnie’s Army have been consigned to the memory. However, the past year has also generated many newer historic moments. In the US, the Chicago Cubs broke their curse to win the World Series Championship in baseball after a 108-year hiatus while the Pittsburg Penguins created a remarkable turnaround to win the Stanley Cup in ice hockey for the fourth time.
Who can forget the Cleveland Cavaliers producing the greatest turnaround in NBA World Finals history by overcoming Golden State Warriors who themselves had set a regular season record of 73 wins and nine defeats to eclipse the Chicago Bulls.
Across the Atlantic Ocean the County Championship in cricket went down to the final overs with Middlesex piping Somerset to the title by completing the season undefeated while Leicester City had their own phoenix moment, surprising everyone to claim the Premier League crown.
In MotoGP there were 10 different race winners in a season that saw Marq Marquez dominate thanks to his consistency while Lewis Hamilton became the first F1 driver in history to win ten races in a season and not claim the championship thanks to his, and his car’s, inconsistency.
Having beaten Hamilton for the first time in his career the ultimate winner, Nico Rosberg, stunned the world by retiring. Portugal surprised Europe by winning Euro 2016, defeating hosts France without, for 70 minutes, Christiano Ronaldo, although the accomplishments of Wales and Iceland were almost as highly acclaimed.
Another unlikely victory came in Kolkata as the West Indies, needing 19 off the final over to beat England, had Barbados allrounder Carlos Brathwaite to thank for smashing four successive sixes off Ben Stokes.
Despite the hype the Ryder Cup proved to be an anticlimax with the US leading from the front and winning comfortably 17-11. Yet the vast majority of the year’s memorable moments came at the Rio Olympics.
Michael Phelps broke the Olympic record by claiming his 23rd gold medal and 28th overall to become the most successful Olympian ever. Participating in his fifth Games he added five
gold medals and one silver medal to his earlier tally, in the process claiming his final victory over Ryan Lochte and revenge over Chad le Clos to reclaim the 200m butterfly title he lost in London.
His only defeat was to 21 year-old Joseph Schooling from Singapore. There was Simone Biles, one of the smallest competitors at 57 inches, who bounced, twisted and turned her way to four gold medals and one bronze in gymnastics; her only slip an uncharacteristic one on the beam.
On the track the irrepressible Usain Bolt won a triple triple, adding the relay to his dominance over the 100m and 200m athletes for the third Games in a row. His Jamaican counterpart, Elaine Thompson, nearly matched him in Rio by claiming both sprint crowns which was the first time since 1988, although her colleagues were unable to catch the Americans.
Aside from the relay, one sensed there was also a metaphorical passing of the batton as Bolt rightfully acclaimed the one-lap record set by Wayde van Niekerk. In the endurance events, Mo Farah matched his 5,000m and 10,000m double from London while two was also a popular number in the triathlon as the Yorkshire based Brownlee brothers took gold and silver in a memorable moment on the Copacabana beach.
The velodrome is always a popular venue where Team GB again proved dominant. The new husband and wife team of Jason Kenny and Laura Trott traded family gold medals although the sight of Bradley Wiggins leading his pursuit team to victory was one of the most spectacular and charged.
During an era when professional sports people are dominating the medal table it was also refreshing to see 42-year-old amateur, Kristin Armstrong, defeating a convicted Russian drug cheat to the cycling time trial gold.
Of the new sports, it was rugby sevens that proved the most popular, particularly as it allowed Fiji to win their first ever Olympic Gold much to the delight of their on-looking Prime Minister.
That their dominant victory occurred in the final over England made their achievement even more symbolic. Justin Rose’s win in an electric golf tournament proved to those choosing to stay away what they were missing.
The hosts got in on the act with the most memorable victory coming in football, beating Germany on penalties with the winning kick at the Maracana taken by the face of the Games, Neymar.
There was also a midnight duel as Thiago Braz da Silva defeated the great Renaud Lavillenie at pole vault while the always-full beach volleyball arena was lit-up at night by the pairing of Alison Cerutti and Bruno Schmidt.
Away from sports, the Olympics also frequently provide moments that illustrate the wider importance of sport with participants showing politicians the way ahead. The USA’s Ibtihaj Muhammad spoke about how it felt to be a Muslim in the time of Donald Trump while Chinese diver proposed to teammate He Zi on the podium.
Yet for me the defining moment came when South Korean gymnast Lee Eun-ju snapped a cross-border selfie with the North Korean competitor Hong Un-jong to provide hope under the Olympic flag.
