Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together ----------------------------------------------- Tokyo Olympics finally launched – with adapted motto – after year’s delay due to pandemic, in July ----------------------------------------------- Sporting achievements of 2021 INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS ----------------------------------------------- January 31 Denmark beat Sweden in Cairo to retain IHF World Men’s Handball title ----------------------------------------------- February 7 Tom Brady (inset) wins 7th Super Bowl title as new team Tampa Bay secure 31-9 victory over Kansas City 21 NovakDjokovic (right) wins record- extending eighth Australian Open Le Tour America’s Cup Italian joy Italy conquer Europe for first time since 1968 Verstappen victory ----------------------------------------------- March 17 Team New Zealand seal 36th America’s Cup with dominant 7-3 victory over Italy’s Luna Rossa 20 Alexis Pinturault of France and Slovakian Petra Vlhová claim Alpine Ski World Cup titles ----------------------------------------------- April 10 Irish jockey Rachael Blackmore (above) becomes first woman to win Grand National, riding Minella Times 11 Hideki Matsuyama (right) claims one-shot victory at U.S. Masters, first Japanese man to win golf major 22 Toulouse beat La Rochelle to win fifth European Cup rugby title 23 Phil Mickelson (left) takes U.S. PGA Championship, becoming oldest major winner at 50 29 Chelsea defeat Man City 1-0 in all-English UEFA Champions League final 30 Colombia’s Egan Bernal (below) wins Giro d’Italia ----------------------------------------------- June 20 Spain’s Jon Rahm wins first golf major at U.S. Open ----------------------------------------------- July 7 Tampa Bay Lightning celebrate successive NHL Stanley Cup titles 10 Argentina beat perennial rivals Brazil to claim 15th Copa America 11 Italy beat England on penalties at Wembley to win UEFA Euro 2020 11 Novak Djokovic seals sixth Wimbledon title, joining Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on 20 Grand Slams 18 Tadej Pogacar, 22, wins second successive Tour de France 20 Milwaukee Bucks win first NBA title since 1971 with victory over Phoenix Suns ----------------------------------------------- August Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas (triple jump) and Norway’s Karsten Warholm (400m hurdles) obliterate previous world records to win Olympic gold 11 Lionel Messi signs for PSG, ending 17-year career with Barcelona ----------------------------------------------- September 11 Britain’s Emma Raducanu (right), 18, wins U.S. Open – first ever qualifier to win Grand Slam title 26 USA rout Europe to regain Ryder Cup ----------------------------------------------- October 10 Tyson Fury knocks out Deontay Wilder in 11th round to retain WBC heavyweight crown 24 Fabio Quartararo (left) becomes MotoGP world champion, as legend Valentino Rossi calls it quits ----------------------------------------------- November 2 Atlanta Braves crush Houston Astros to win first MLB World Series since 1995 14 Australia pummel New Zealand to claim maiden ICC T20 World Cup ----------------------------------------------- December 12 Max Verstappen wins his first F1 World Championship, beating Lewis Hamilton on final lap of thrilling season finale in Abu Dhabi ----------------------------------------------- Pictures: Getty Images © GRAPHIC NEWS