2017 was full of sporting milestones throughout the year.
The year began with the PDC Darts World Championship and ended with Mo Farah being crowned Sports Personality of the Year, and England’s ultimately unsuccessful attempt to retain the Ashes Down Under.
Below are five major events of the year:
Michael van Gerwen wins his second PDC world title (2nd January)
The year started off well for Michael van Gerwen, who won his second darts world title at Alexandra Palace.
‘Mighty Mike’ beat Gary Anderson 7-3 in the final, capping off a tournament that broke numerous records.
The final saw 42 180’s hit, the most ever in a darts match.
Van Gerwen recorded the highest ever average in his semi final against Raymond van Barneveld (114.05 in a 6-2 win), made all the more impressive by the fact that Barney’s own average (109.34) was higher than either average in the final.
Tony Bellew beats David Haye at the O2 (3rd March)
The most talked about fight of 2017 to this point saw Tony ‘Bomber’ Bellew defeat David Haye at the O2 Arena.
Bellew was the underdog pre-match due to this being his first fight at heavyweight level.
The fight was close up until the sixth round, when Haye severely injured his ankle.
Bellew took control and won the fight in round 11 by TKO. At the time, Bellew was up on all three judges’ scorecards.
The fight was said to have been watched by over 890,000 people on PPV, with Haye earning over 60% of the purse despite defeat.
James Anderson becomes first Englishman to reach 500 Test wickets (8th September)
England bowler James Anderson went into the Test between England and West Indies at Lord’s knowing that three wickets would take him past the landmark of 500 Test scalps.
The feat arrived when he bowled Kraigg Brathwaite shortly after tea on the second day, although England went on to lose the match by five wickets in what was a shock win for the West Indies.
He became only the sixth player to reach the landmark, with Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan leading the list with 800 wickets.
Lewis Hamilton wins his fourth F1 world championship (29th October)
A first corner collision with title rival Sebastian Vettel did not stop Lewis Hamilton from claiming his fourth F1 world title.
The Briton qualified 3rd at Mexico although a puncture caused by the crash dropped him to the back of the field.
He recovered to finish 9th, and with Vettel needing at least 2nd to keep his hopes alive (he finished 4th), Hamilton secured the title with two races to go.
Hamilton had broken the record for the most pole positions earlier in the season (65), and broke Michael Schumacher’s record of 116 front row starts.
Manchester City break Premier League record for consecutive wins (10th December)
Manchester City’s 2-1 win at Manchester United gave them their 14th consecutive win in the Premier League, breaking the record.
Nicolas Otamendi’s second half goal was enough to secure victory after David Silva had opened the scoring and Marcus Rashford had equalised for United.
Ederson’s late second half save from Romelu Lukaku and then Juan Mata was vital in giving City the three points, maintaining their unbeaten campaign and sending them 11 points clear at the top.
RS Sport 