Top 10 best international sportspersons in 2021

These athletes went on to achieve phenomenal success in their respective sports this year.

The year 2021 had a tight sporting schedule, as many events postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic were rescheduled this year, the Olympics being one of them. Major sporting events in other sports also took place this year:

Some athletes managed to shine in this year. These athletes stuck through with their will and perseverance, despite all the adversity. Here is a list of the 10 best sportspersons from around the globe who made 2021 their own.

10. Kaylee McKeown (Swimming)

The 20-year-old Queenslander made a splash at the Tokyo Olympics. She took the gold in the 100m, setting a new Olympic record timing (57.88 seconds). She also won gold in the 200m backstroke. Kaylee clinched her third gold in Tokyo in the women’s 4x100m medley relay (3:51:60).

The record again became an Olympic as well as a national record. She also had a bronze in the mixed 4x100m medley relay. All in all, she well and truly deserves to be recognized as one the best international athletes of 2021.

9. Akbar Djuraev (Weightlifting)

Akbar Djuraev certainly had a gold-laden year in 2021. The 22-year-old Uzbek weightlifter really set the bar high with his powerful lifts. Djuraev lifted a total weight of 430kgs (193 snatch, 237 clean and jerk) to set a new Olympic record at the Tokyo Olympics, as he went on to bag the gold medal in the 109kg category.

His latest success came in December at the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships in his home country. He lifted a total weight of 433kgs ( 195 snatch, 238 clean and jerk). It was a spectacular way to end the year for one of the best international sportspersons of 2021.

8. Alexander Hendrickx (Hockey)

Belgian hockey defender Alexander Hendrickx had a spectacular 2021. He was the force behind Belgium's gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. He became the top scorer in the tournament, with 14 goals. Hendrickx was in such immaculate form that he was hard to stop for any opposition.

One of the best drag-flickers in the world, Hendricx scored in literally every match, except for one against Great Britain. He also scored a hat-trick of hat-tricks against the Netherlands, South Africa and India at the mega event. Moreover, Hendrickx also won a bronze at the Eurohockey Nations Championship in Amsterdam this year. He became the second highest scorer in the tournament with his five goals. He thus became one of the best international sportspersons of 2021.

7. Chen Yufei (Badminton)

Chinese badminton ace Chen Yufei had a great year. Apart from helping her national side win the Sudirman Cup for a record 12th time, she hit it big at the Olympics. She entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed and lifted her first gold medal at the mega event.

Chen defeated her old rival Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu-ying 21-18,19-21, 21-18. She avenged her loss at the 2020 All England Open final.

6. Max Verstappen (Formula One)

Max Verstappen will definitely find 2021 a hard year to forget. This was his crowning year as the new F1 champion. Verstappen's success made a lot of "first time" records. He became the first Dutch driver since Ayrton Senna in 1991 to win the championship. Moreover he was the first Red Bull driver since Sebastian Vettel in 2013 and the first non-Mercedes driver in the turbo-hybrid era to win the World Championship.

Verstappen displaced four-time defending champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes to earn this momentous feat. The climax of the F1 2021 season too was cinematic. The two title rivals for the drivers' crown entered the last race of the season with equal points. Verstappen sealed the title after winning the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after a last-lap restart pass on Hamilton. Mercedes initially protested the results, but decided not to appeal after their protest was denied.

5. Viktor Axelsen (Badminton)

Viktor Axelsen had a fairytale year in 2021. He participated at the European Mixed Team Championships in Finland and helped the team win the gold medal. He also won silver medals at the All England Open in March and the Kyiv European Championships in May. He carried his momentum to the Olympics, where he defeated Olympic and two-time world champion Chen Long to win the gold medal.

Axelsen did not drop a single point throughout the entire competition. He also won the Denmark Open in his home country. Viktor defeated Kento Momota in a thrilling three-set battle. He also won gold at the Indonesian Open and the 2021 BWF World Tour Finals. All this certainly made him one of the best international sportspersons of 2021.

4. Karsten Warholm (Athletics)

Norwegian athlete Karsten Warholm is one of the most decorated athletes of our times. The sprinter broke the 29-year-old world record in the 400m hurdles in July this year, with a record time of 46.70 seconds. Then he went onto win the gold medal in the 400m hurdles with a time of 45.94 seconds at the Tokyo Olympics, breaking his own world record by over three quarters of a second.

Many have described the race as one of the greatest in Olympic history. This is due to the records set and the high quality field of competitors. He also went on to win the World Athletics Male Athlete of the Year award.

3. Novak Djokovic (Tennis)

Novak Djokovic played four grand slam finals this year. He won three and was a runner-up in one. Novak won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. He defeated Daniil Medvedev ( 7-5, 6-2, 6-2). Stefanos Tsitsipas (6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4) and Matteo Berrettini (6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3) respectively.

In addition to this, he also won the Paris Masters against rival Medvedev and was a runner-up at the Italian Open. He ended 2021 as the No. 1 ranked player for the seventh time, thus breaking Pete Sampras' record. Infact, his French Open victory made him the only player in the Open Era to win every Grand Slam at least twice. With his win at Wimbledon, Djokovic also tied with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer as the player with the most grand slam titles (20). All this makes him one of the best sportspersons of 2021.

2. Emma McKeon (Swimming)

The swimmer from Brisbane earned the most medals by an individual athlete at the Tokyo Olympics. She won a staggering seven medals at the mega event. She is now tied with gymnast Maria Gorokhovskaya for the record for most medals won by a woman in a single edition of the Olympics.

The 27-year-old picked up four gold medals in the 50 and 100m individual freestyle, followed by 4x100m medley and freestyle relays. She won bronze medals in the 100m butterfly, 4x200m freestyle relay and 4x100m mixed. She is currently tied for the most medals won at the Olympics (seven) by any Australian athlete with Ian Thorpe.

In addition to her staggering achievements at the Olympics, she also won a total of 14 medals (including 10 gold medals) at the 2021 FINA Swimming World Cup. This was the highest number of medals for any swimmer at the competition.

1. Caeleb Dressel (Swimming)

Considered Michael Phelps' successor in swimming, Caeleb Dressel was literally on a gold rush in Tokyo. The 24-year-old  swimmer collected five gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, thus becoming the athlete with the most gold medals at the event. His first gold came in the 4x100m freestyle relay. He went on to establish two new Olympics records in the 50m and 100m freestyle, as he clinched golds in both events. He signed off with two new world record timings in the 100m butterfly and 4x100m medley relay, earning golds in both events.

Dressel became the fourth male USA swimmer in history to achieve the feat after Mark Spitz, Matt Biondi, and Phelps. His phenomenal success at the Tokyo Olympics certainly made him the best international sportsperson of 2021.

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