Sports have always been about athletes getting faster, higher and stronger, or in other words, achieving more and bigger success. Athletes manage to do it every year, but some are truly special thanks to their performances.
Nikola Jokic (C) of the Denver Nuggets celebrate with the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy and the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Trophy after defeating the Miami Heat 94-89 in Game 5 of the series at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, June 13, 2023. /CFP
Nikola Jokic wins first NBA championship for Denver
On the Denver Nuggets' way to their first NBA Finals since they joined the league in 1976, Nikola Jokic beat three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, two-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) Kevin Durant and four-time NBA champion LeBron James. The Miami Heat, the second No. 8 seed in history to reach the NBA Finals, couldn't stop Jokic either. In 2023, Denver had both their first Larry O'Brien Trophy and their first Finals MVP, who has the most comprehensive offensive skills for a center.
Ding Liren of China attends a press conference after winning the World Chess Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan, April 30, 2023. /CFP
Ding Liren makes history as a Chinese chess player
China waited over 30 years for a male world chess champion, but Ding Liren ended that drought by beating Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi by 2.5 points to 1.5 in a nerve-wracking tiebreak playoff at the World Chess Championship in April. There had been only 16 world champions in the 137-year-long history of the sport, until Ding became the 17th. His ascent to the summit means China holds both the men's and women's world titles.
Novak Djokovic (C) of Serbia celebrates with the U.S. Open men's singles trophy after defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, September 10, 2023. /CFP
Novak Djokovic is the tennis GOAT, who disagrees?
Novak Djokovic finished 2023 with three Grand Slam titles, meaning he now has 24 such trophies in his possession, more than anyone else in history. There may be multiple ways to measure the greatness of an athlete, but nothing beats the total number of top honors one has won. If that's not enough, the 36-year-old Serbia also won a record 40th ATP Masters 1000 trophy and ended the year as world No.1 for an unprecedented eighth time.
Qin Haiyang of China celebrates with the medals he won at the World Aquatic Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, July 30, 2023. /CFP
Qin Haiyang, the new 'Frog King' of the pool
World Aquatics, the international governing body of swimming, recognized China's Qin Haiyang as the best breaststroke (also referred to as frog stroke for the kick moves) swimmer of 2023 by awarding him the Best Male Swimmer of the Year. Not only did Qin win the 50, 100 and 200 meters at all three World Cup legs this year, he also became the first swimmer in history to win all three breaststroke events at a single edition of the World Aquatic Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, in July.
Kelvin Kiptum of Kenya celebrates after setting a new men's marathon world record of 2:00:35 at the Chicago Marathon in Chicago, Illinois, October 8, 2023. /CFP
Kelvin Kiptum continues to break human limit in marathon
Kelvin Kiptum of Kenya proved that it's possible for humankind to finish an officially-sanctioned marathon within two hours and one minute as he did it in 2:00:35 at the Chicago Marathon on October 8. He beat his compatriot Benson Kipruto, who came in second, by almost three and a half minutes, the course record by more than three minutes, the previous world record by Eliud Kipchoge by 34 seconds, and he did it without a pacemaker after halfway.
Zhang Zhilei of China celebrates after beating Joe Joyce of Britain at the Copper Box Arena in London, Britain, April 15, 2023. /CFP
Zhang Zhilei shows China's boxing power
Zhang Zhilei "put China on the boxing map" with a sixth-round technical knockout win over World Boxing Organization interim heavyweight champion Joe Joyce of Britain in London on April 15. He claimed the first heavyweight belt for China right before turning 40. Five months later, he beat Joyce again to defend his title. This time, it was a knockout in the third round and perfect punch with China power.
Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok of T1 attends a press conference after winning the League of Legends World Championship final in Seoul, South Korea, November 19, 2023. /AP
League of Legends should be known as 'Faker's game'
Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok will have his name attached to the esports video game "League of Legends (LoL)" like Pele and Diego Maradona to football as well as Michael Jordan to basketball, after winning his fourth World Championship title with T1 at home in South Korea in November. His understanding of the game is ahead of his time, which can be shown in his team's three straight, dominant wins over LNG Esport, JD Gaming and Weibo Gaming.
Si Jiahui acknowledges the crowd during the quarterfinal at the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England, April 26, 2023. /CFP
Si Jiahui, a giant slayer on the rise
Si Jiahui, 20, on his World Snooker Championship debut in Sheffield, England on April 26, edged Anthony McGill of Scottland 13-12 in the quarterfinal, becoming the youngest semifinalist of the tournament in 27 years and the first debutant to reach the last four in 28 years. Before that, he was already the youngest World Championship quarterfinalist in 25 years after beating England's Robert Milkins. Two years earlier, he was still an amateur player.
Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers meets the press at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, December 14, 2023. /CFP
Shohei Ohtani sets a new salary standard in MLB
Major League Baseball players will thank Shohei Ohtani and his unprecedented 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers when they negotiate their own deals in the future. It's more than an enormous figure on a cheque, but gives other players a criterion to value themselves on the market. Of course, it's hard to imagine that it will be a flop because the 29-year-old Japanese two-way player just won his second unanimous American League MVP in three years.
Zheng Qinwen of China competes in the women's singles Round of 16 match against Ons Jabeur of Tunisia at the U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, September 4, 2023. /CFP
Zheng Qinwen keeps moving forward
2023 was full of breakthroughs for China's Zheng Qinwen. Not only did she win her first and second Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour women's singles titles at the Internazionali Femminili di Palermo in July and the Zhengzhou Open in October, respectively, she made the Grand Slam quarterfinals for the first time in her career at the U.S. Open by defeating the 2022 finalist, Ons Jabeur of Tunisia. With such incredible performances, Zheng entered the World's top 15 when the year ended.