Izuchukwu OkosiThere were many top sporting moments in year 2022, during which the world experienced highs and lows with records created and broken in different spheres.
Prime Business Africa here reviews ‘the top 8’ moments that brought joy and anguish, especially to Nigerians and Africans.
Join our WhatsApp Channel1. Tobi Amusan’s World Athletics Championship
Nigeria’s Tobiloba Amusan made history at the 2022 World Athletics Championship in July when she scooped the women’s 100m hurdles gold in Eugene, Oregon in the United States of America at the expense of competition’s favourite, USA’s Kendra Harrison.
Amusan achieved this feat in the final in a record time 12.06s to obliterate the 12.12s she ran in the semifinals.
On a sombre note, the 12.06s time she ran was not officially recognised by the World Athletics because of the over 2m/s wind-assisted speed.
Nigeria had won a total of nine medals, made up of four silver and five bronze before Amusan’s victory.
Amusan, by virtue of her excellence in 2022, was awarded with the Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) along other s/heroes.
She also became the youth ambassador of Ogun state courtesy of Governor Dapo Abiodun who gifted her a house and the sum of N5 million to boot.
The Nigerian golden girl finished fourth in Doha, Qatar in same competition three years ago.
2. Nigeria’s Commonwealth Games Golden Relay
Nigeria in August 2022 won the gold medal in the women’s 4×100 meters relay at the 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Birmingham.
The quartet of Tobi Amusan, Favour Ofili, Rosemary Chukwuma, and Grace Nwokocha also set a new African record with a time of 42.10 seconds.
The victory for Nigeria comes a few minutes after Amusan also won the gold medal in the women’s 100m hurdles.
Amusan is the reigning world champion and record holder and successfully defended her title as she ended the race in 12.30 seconds to also set a new games record.
However, the World Athletics a month later disclosed that it has launched an investigation of a possible doping by one of the ‘fearsome four’, Grace Nwokocha.
3. Morroco First African Nation To Reach World Cup Semifinals
The Atlas Lions of Morocco became the first national team from the African continent and also the first Arab nation to reach the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup.
The last time the team reached the knockout stage of the tournament was in 1986 when Mexico hosted the world.
Ghana had the chance to achieve this in 2010 but were denied by Uruguay in a penalty shootout after former Black Stars striker, Asamoah Gyan missed his decisive penalty kick.
Morocco played an exciting brand of football in Qatar and did this by defeating heavyweights like Portugal, Spain and Croatia in the group stage.
The team coached by local tactician, Wahid Regragui were beaten by Croatia in the third place playoff.
READ ALSO: Buhari Confers Amusan With ‘Order of Niger’ National Honour
4. D’Tigress Stopped From Attending FIBA Women’s World Cup
Nigeria’s women basketball national team, D’Tigress labored hard to qualify for the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Australia but sadly could not attend the tournament.
The team were stopped from participating in the tournament because of internal strife in the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF).
The damage was finally done when the Federal Government through the Sports Ministry headed by former sports journalist, Sunday Dare, took exception to the complaints of basketball players that besieged the office of the Sports Minister as they sought audience over the crisis rocking the NBBF.
The players were drawn from 16 domestic clubs including Nigeria Customs, Kano Pillars, Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC defenders), Kwara Falcons, Coal City, among others.
The aggrieved basketballers wondered why the crisis necessitated by two rival bodies laying claims to the administration of the game on Nigeria would be allowed to linger without resolution.
They recalled how the Nigerian basketball went on for years without domestic league competition, but for the Mark D Ball tournament which was already winding down.
Two separate elections into the board of the NBBF had held in 2021.
The bitter side of the outcome were that the Ogwumike sister wh most Nigerians hoped would change allegiance and represent Nigeria could not do so.
Mali replaced Nigeria at the FIBA Women’s World Cup and were eliminated in the group stage.
5. Nigeria Failed To Qualify For 2022 World Cup
The Super Eagles of Nigeria on March 29 lost the chance to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar when Ghana snatched an away 1-1 draw at the Moshood Abiola stadium, Abuja to make it to the Gulf on the away goals rule.
The first leg of the qualifying playoff had ended goalless in Kumasi four days earlier.
Arsenal’s Thomas Partey scored the decisive goal rendering William Troost-Ekong’a penalty irrelevant.
Ghana however could not go past the group stage of the mundial in Qatar.
6. Serena Williams Retires
Arguably the Greatest of All Times in women’s professional tennis circuit, Serena Williams whose roots was sometime ago curiously linked to Nigeria, announced her retirement from the game in 2022 after a career that spanned over 27 years.
Serena who has ruled the WTA with her older sister, Venus, however two months later hinted that she could be making a return to the game.
“I am not retired,” Williams said when speaking about her investment company, Serena Ventures, at a TechCrunch conference in California.
The younger of the Williams sisters won a total of 39 grand slam titles — 23 singles titles, 14 doubles titles, and two mixed doubles titles — and an avalanche of records that she said were made possible by the support of her father Richard, mother Oracene, and elder sister Venus.
After a 27-year professional career in tennis that brought 39 grand slam titles — 23 singles titles, 14 doubles titles, and two mixed doubles titles — and an avalanche of records, Serena Williams takes a bow as one of the greatest players to ever grace the court.
Serena, 40, played her last competitive game at Arthur Ashe Stadium where she lost 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 to Ajla Tomljanovic during this year’s US Open.
7. Messi & Co Win Argentina’s Third World Cup
Recently, the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar came to a fitting end with a final between Argentina and France who were winners in Russia four years ago.
Argentina won the title 4-2 on penalties after it finished 3-3 after extra time (it was 2-2 after 90 minutes).
Argent last won the tournament in Mexico ’86 when the inspirational Diego Maradona led his team to the title after Mario Kempes did same in 1978.
The Albeceleste did not start the tournament in the best possible form after they were beaten 2-1 by Saudi Arabia.
They got back in the groove and edged out games until the latter stages of the tournament when the belief that they can do it set in.
It was a mighty relief for Lionel Messi whose claims to the Greatest of All Times toga was greatly enhanced.
8. Pele Dies
The football fraternity was thrown into mourning with the news that Edson Arantes dos Nascimento best known as Pele died on Thursday, 29 December 2022 after he lost his battle to colon cancer.
Eminent football personalities and world leaders have continued to pay their respect to the man regarded as the ‘king of football’ who died at the age of 82.
One of Pele’s contributions to world peace was when he called for ceasefire during the Nigeria Civil War.
A truce was reached to watch him play football in Kaduna when his team Vasco Da Gama played against Racah Rovers.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
Follow Us