Sporting superstars of 2025

Rory McIlroy

McIlroy has openly described 2025 as the “best year” of his golfing life, having completed the career Grand Slam, won three play-offs and enjoyed Ryder Cup glory during his memorable campaign.

He had already won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Players on the PGA Tour before his success at The Masters, where he defeated Justin Rose in a play-off to claim the Green Jacket and become just the sixth male to win all four major titles.

A dramatic victory at the Amgen Irish Open was followed by playing a key part in Europe’s historic Ryder Cup win in New York, where he overcame hostile crowds to deliver 3.5 points and help Luke Donald’s side to a first away success since 2012.

McIlroy’s strong finish to 2025 wrapped up the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai trophy for a seventh time, leaving him one away from Colin Montgomerie’s Order of Merit record, before he became just the third golfer ever to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.

Luke Littler

Luke Littler has been eulogised ever since his rise to stardom but his 2025 has been something special to watch unfold.

The 18-year-old is officially the youngest ever PDC world No 1, clinching the honour at 18 years and 299 days, with the previous record being held by Michael van Gerwen at 24 years and 251 days in 2014.

Let’s start at the beginning though. Littler clinched his maiden world title at Alexandra Palace in January, and his 2025 season continued a remarkable trajectory.

Three more major titles - the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, and UK Open - were secured, with Littler also savouring success at the Australian Darts Masters, New Zealand Darts Masters, Belgian Darts Open, Flanders Darts Trophy, and Players Championship 32.

More then came as he defended his Grand Slam of Darts title against Humphries as he became only the fourth person to go back-to-back in Wolverhampton on the same day he moved to the top of the world, Players Championship Finals glory following.

Chloe Kelly

It was a rollercoaster 2025 for Kelly. It began with a heated head-to-head with her then-club, Manchester City, that resulted in her moving to Arsenal in the January transfer window.

But a return to the Gunners could not have gone better for her, culminating in winning the Women’s Champions League, beating heavy favourites Barcelona.

She was England’s saviour again on the European stage too. Kelly’s 119th^-minute goal against Italy in the semi-finals of Euro 2025 won it for the Lionesses. She had initially seen a penalty saved, but scored the rebound to set up a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final against Spain.

But as Kelly herself said, she doesn’t miss twice.

She scored the winning penalty in a dramatic shootout as England retained their European title – also won by a Kelly extra-time strike in 2022.

After the final, she said: "Tough times don't last. Just around the corner was a Champions League final and I won that. Now a Euros final and I won that. Thanks to everyone that wrote me off. I'm grateful."

Now at Arsenal on a permanent basis, Kelly is settled as England start a new qualification cycle for the 2027 World Cup. A player who thrives in the big moments, there’s no doubt that the winger has plenty more in her locker.

Lando Norris

Becoming world champion for the first time is an incredible achievement for any athlete, but Lando Norris’ maiden Formula 1 drivers’ title was made extra special by the fact the Brit did it his way.

Norris entered the 2025 season as title favourite, but many in the paddock held reservations over whether he could take advantage of McLaren’s superb car, partly due to inconsistencies on track but also due to his personality.

Throughout his career, Norris has been very open about his struggles on and off track, with some onlookers believing he was giving away too much to his opponents, and needed to take a more traditionally competitive approach if he were to end Max Verstappen’s streak of four titles.

Doubts over Norris’ pedigree were only heightened by an underwhelming start to the season that left him trailing his team-mate Oscar Piastri, who was being lauded for his coolness and consistency.

Just when his hopes appeared to be fading after an unfortunate technical failure at the Dutch Grand Prix, Norris dug deep to reduce Piastri’s advantage, before producing the best back-to-back performances of his career with superb wins in Mexico and Brazil to snatch control of the title race.

In typical Lando fashion, it wasn’t a straightforward finish as the battle went down to the wire in Abu Dhabi, but the 26-year-old handled his emotions superbly to do exactly what was required to seal the title, proving in the process that athletes - and young male ones in particular - don’t necessarily need to conform to outdated ideals.

Carlos Alcaraz

Alcaraz enjoyed more success on the ATP Tour than any other season to date, in a year where his rivalry with Jannik Sinner extended – if it wasn’t already – into a generation-defining duel.

Alcaraz ended 2025 as world No 1 after winning eight ATP Tour titles during a memorable campaign, where Grand Slam success was part of a back-and-forth battle with Sinner throughout the season.

The Spaniard successfully defended his French Open title after surviving three match points to beat Sinner in the longest final in the tournament's history, with the pair also meeting in the next two Grand Slam finals.

Alcaraz recovered from losing the Wimbledon final to beat Sinner to the US Open title, putting him back No 1, having already defeated him in finals at ATP 1000 events in Italy and Cincinnati.

The 22-year-old may have only added one more trophy since securing his sixth Grand Slam title in New York, winning the Japan Open, but Alcaraz will now look to build on his historic season in 2026.

Ellie Kildunne

Emulating her stellar 2024 - the year she was crowned World Rugby’s Women’s Player of the Year -  felt like a tall order, yet Ellie Kildunne somehow made the extraordinary look routine in 2025.

If the previous 12 months brought her personal accolades, this year saw her nation bask in the glory of her brilliance.

Kildunne, the face of the 2025 Rugby World Cup in England, was instrumental in guiding the Red Roses back to the summit of the sport.

The Harlequins full-back crossed for nine tries across the Six Nations and the World Cup as England swept all before them, extending their record winning streak to 33 matches.

Her defining moment came in the World Cup final at Twickenham, where a record crowd of more than 81,000 watched her stunning solo try ignite an England comeback that ended in global triumph.

By the year’s end, national recognition followed. Kildunne was shortlisted for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, ultimately finishing runner-up to Rory McIlroy.

Mondo Duplantis

Breaking a world record is the pinnacle for athletes, and the few who break one several times in their career are eternal legends. But it seems we need another category for Mondo Duplantis.  

This year the Swede broke his own world record a baffling four times, extending his total streak to 14 as he continues to challenge what is possible.  

He first broke the world record at just 20 years old in February 2020 where he cleared 6.17m for the first time, but now his record towers at 6.30m.  

In a year where field events had to fight for the spotlight, Duplantis has developed his own cheat code - ‘just’ break a world record, again, and again, and again.  

It was announced December 1 that Duplantis would be returning to London, for the first time since 2018 when he was a teenager, for the London Diamond League on July 18.  

The result? A 1,150 per cent surge in ticket sales, with all of that week’s top-selling tickets in the part of the stadium closest to the pole vault area, as fans flock for a chance to witness Duplantis break his record on English soil for the first time.

The three-time world champion and two-time Olympic Champion was also awarded World Athletics’ male athlete of the year, an accolade he has won four times already.  

Usain Bolt is the only man to have won the award more times, with six, but at just 26, Duplantis has plenty of time to target another record.  

Terence Crawford

2025 proved to be Crawford’s final year in the ring and he made sure to extract every ounce from 12 memorable months to cement his status as pound-for-pound king of his generation.

“Bud” Crawford was long recognised as one of the most gifted fighters of his era, but one question loomed large over his career - could he beat Saul Canelo Alvarez?

Fight fans had their prayers answered on September 13 when Crawford and Canelo went toe to toe in the ring in Nevada.

A fight for the ages given the names on the bill and what was at stake, but it was anything but in the ring as Crawford delivered a one-sided masterclass to settle the debate once and for all.

Victory over Canelo saw Crawford become only the second male three-weight undisputed champion and if that wasn’t enough of a statement, he stunned the world of boxing with the ultimate mic-drop moment when he announced his retirement from boxing, citing he had nothing else to achieve.

He hangs up his gloves with 42 wins from his 42 fights as a professional, 31 of which by way of knockout, and with his place among the pantheon of boxing greats comfortably secure.

Joe Root

Credit should be paid to Australia for turning England’s Ashes dreams to dust once again and regaining that precious little urn at the earliest possible opportunity. Travis Head’s two tons and Mitchell Starc’s 22 wickets were vital for the hosts, who pounced on the all-too-frequent occasions their Bazballing opponents fluffed their lines.

As a result, Joe Root remains without a series win in Australia after four attempts, but he at least notched a first Ashes hundred overseas, in Brisbane, following four previously on home soil, proving to the West Australian newspaper that he is far from “average”.

Getting that monkey off his back continued a fine 2025 for Root personally with the Yorkshireman overtaking Ricky Ponting as the second-highest run-scorer in Test cricket (only Sachin Tendulkar is ahead of him now) and moving fourth on the all-time list for hundreds in the longest format (41). He hit four Test centuries this calendar year, including three in as many matches at home to India in the summer.

Root also became England’s leading ODI run-scorer, moving above Eoin Morgan on that chart, following a match-winning century against West Indies in Cardiff, with his haul of 808 runs in international 50-over cricket in 2025 more than anybody else.

Michelle Agyemang

England’s breakout star Agyemang had a rise no one could have predicted at the start of the year.

She earned her first senior call-up in April when Sarina Wiegman selected the 19-year-old in her upcoming England squad.

A relatively unknown striker on loan at Brighton from Arsenal, her minutes were limited, but she turned heads when she scored 41 seconds after making her Lionesses debut against Belgium.

Wiegman clearly saw something in the teenager and Agyemang’s inclusion in the Euro 2025 squad was a real surprise. Alessia Russo was the undisputed starter, while Aggie Beever-Jones had just come off the back of a domestic treble with Chelsea and it seemed unlikely that Agyemang would make an appearance.

But the surprises kept coming.

She scored vital equalisers against both Sweden and Italy, helping to drag England towards glory. Perhaps it was the lack of expectation, the confidence of youth or the sheer chaos she caused every time she stepped onto the pitch.

Whatever spurred her on, she wrote her name into England history, lifting the Euros trophy and being named as the Young Player of the Tournament.

Another loan at Brighton followed this season, where she was starting regularly as she looked to gain more senior experience and continue her development.

Then came that dreaded injury – the ACL. Agyemang is now sidelined for at least the remainder of the season, just as her momentum was only beginning.

While 2025 was the breakthrough, 2026 will be Agyemang’s year of the comeback. It’s exciting to see what else she can achieve.

Luke Donald

It’s easy to forget that had Henrik Stenson not moved to LIV Golf and been forced to relinquish Ryder Cup captaincy, Europe may not have unearthed arguably their greatest ever golfing leader.

Luke Donald retained 11 of his 12 players and four of his vice-captains from their victorious 2023 Ryder Cup team for their trip to New York, where they were faced with the task of becoming the first away side to win the event since 2012.

Donald's meticulous preparation and strong leadership helped Europe build a historic advantage over Team USA, where they overcame a challenging Bethpage Black crowd to win each of the first four sessions and take a record lead into the final day.

A United States fightback in the singles could stop the visitors from successfully retaining their title, with a 15-13 victory ensuring Donald joined Tony Jacklin as the only European captain to successfully win back-to-back Ryder Cups. 

Amy Hunt

Amy Hunt really embraces being a silver jewellery girl, and that doesn’t change when she steps on the track. The sprinter is usually decked out with her favourite silver pieces, even sporting a pair of Nike, her sponsor, earrings.  

But this summer she added the ultimate silver accessory – a world championships silver medal.  

Hunt was far from a favourite to medal, but the 23-year-old had run a personal best in the semi-final to qualify third fastest, giving her an ideal lane five for the final.

Even so, with four women having ran faster than her this year, people were not expecting her to medal, but the Cambridge graduate, lined up next to the recently crowned 100m world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, was not phased.  

She burst out of the blocks, but with 100m to go she was sitting around fifth and well out of contention for a podium finish.

Just 15 metres later though, she was suddenly back in the mix and Hunt, known for her strong finishing, picked off her competitors one by one to climb all the way up to second.  

At the start of this year Hunt also made a statement at the World Indoor Championships where she placed fifth in the 60m, despite not being a short sprints specialist.  

Mikey Lewis

The heartbeat of Hull KR’s treble-winning season as they scooped Super League, League Leaders’ Shield and Challenge Cup to confirm giant status

Hull KR made rafts and rafts of history in 2025 and there was one man at the heart of it - Mikey Lewis.

The 2024 Man of Steel was electric again this year, leading to him being nominated for the sport’s top individual award once again.

In the Challenge Cup final, he kicked the conversion that sealed the first trophy for his side since 1985. It was a moment that epitomised nerves of steel and cemented his legacy in Hull KR folklore.

Then, he was the star of the show in the Grand Final, tearing Wigan Warriors apart and winning the Rob Burrow Award for his efforts.

That victory made Hull KR only the fifth ever team to win the Grand Final, joining Wigan Warriors, St Helens, Leeds Rhinos, and Bradford Bulls.

As Lewis shed tears, the magnitude of the moment set in - the hometown boy made his mark and then some.

Hannah Hampton

As trophies go, Hannah Hampton isn’t far off having won most of them in 2025, both collectively and individually.

First, there was the domestic treble for Chelsea. She was ever-present as the Blues won the WSL, FA Cup and League Cup – Hampton winning the latter two for the first time.

Her summer could not have gone any better either. Anointed as England’s No 1 goalkeeper before the tournament – more on that in a moment – she more than proved her worth as England won the Euro 2025 title.

She had to face penalty shootouts against Sweden and Spain, and was one of the Lionesses' heroes in both. Hampton saved four penalties across the two, including from two of the world’s best players – Mariona Caldentey and Aitana Bonmati – in the final.

She continues to be first choice for Chelsea and England, and has had a plethora of individual accolades too. She won the Yashin Trophy and was most recently named as Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper, just to name two.

All of this has come amid intense media focus after the accusations towards her from former England teammate, Mary Earps. The goalkeeper is yet to comment directly, instead using her on-field performances to do the talking.

The winter break will hopefully allow Hampton to recover from her quad injury and start 2026 in a healthy place, mentally and physically. With Chelsea aiming for more silverware this season and England’s qualification for the 2027 World Cup, it’s set to be another busy year for Hampton.

Georgia Hunter Bell

Ever since she stormed to Olympic 800m gold at Paris 2024, Keely Hodgkinson has not been able to avoid the limelight.  

But her training partner Georgia Hunter-Bell, despite winning bronze over 1500m at the Olympics, seemed to have gone under the radar. That was until September’s World Athletics Championships.

For months, Hunter-Bell had been toying with the idea of running the 800m, the 1500m or maybe even both in Tokyo.

The former would mean she would be racing against her training partner – Olympic champion Hodgkinson – but when decision time rolled around, the 800m it was as the ultimate showdown was set up.

The British duo eased through the heats and semi-finals, finally reaching their judgement day, on the very last day of the competition.  

Hodgkinson took the lead, just as she had in Paris the year prior, with Hunter-Bell on her shoulder, but neither saw the Kenyan, Lilian Odira, who swooped round them.

Hunter-Bell had followed the Kenyan through, going neck and neck with the favourite for gold and forcing a lactic fuelled dip for the line.  

It went down to photo finish as the pair waited anxiously, but Hunter-Bell had done it, she won silver and beat her training partner Hodgkinson.  

She had gone from quitting the sport in 2017 before giving it another go during the pandemic in 2020, to winning another global medal at 31 years old.