The best sports pictures of the year 2022: From World Cup glory to iconic Chloe Kelly celebration
s 2022 draws to a close, it’s time to reflect on what has been another memorable year of sport.
It’s been a truly global 12 months of action, starting with the Australian Open and the Africa Cup of Nations, before the UK took centre stage in the summer and Qatar then played host to a World Cup few will ever forget.
Covid once again was a factor in the early part of the year, with Novak Djokovic unable to compete in Melbourne as Rafael Nadal took the title and the Winter Olympics in Beijing a more muted event than usual. That did not dampen the joy for Eve Muirhead and her team-mates after securing curling gold for Great Britain.
Some of the images in our round-up focus on those who said goodbye in 2022. Roger Federer bid an emotional farewell to tennis at the Laver Cup in September, shortly after Serena Williams did the same at the US Open.
There is no shortage of iconic moments captured, most notably Chloe Kelly celebrating after scoring the winner in England’s Euro 2022 final victory over Germany at Wembley and Lionel Messi lifting the World Cup as Argentina edged past France in a remarkable encounter.
Click through our gallery at the top of the page as we take a look at some of the most memorable images from the year.