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What a 12 months it’s been in the world of sports!

Records have been broken, titles won and as South Africans we have never been in the limelight as much as this year, with our various teams competing like champs, and the hype for the World Cup boiling over as the wait dwindles down to only a few months. In our sports wrap 2009, we take a gander at the best and the worst from the last year in the sporting world.

Usain bolt.... need I say more? The feat this guy achieved smashing the 100m and 200m records at the World Champs this year is something that has to go down as one of the big moments from the sporting calendar. I mean put it into perspective, teams and players have good seasons and we accolade them, which they deserve, for their accomplishments over 1 year. Mr Usain Bolt essentially ran the fastest a human has run in the history of time... literally recorded time! 100m in 9.58 – I could end this review right here!

While on the topic of Athletics, how could we not mention Caster Semenya’s gold medal, world record breaking 800m run at the world champs! Oh yeah, and the fact that s/he is a hermaphrodite-A fact that sent the South African Athletics Association, and the political world, into total disarray. The response from the athletics association... ‘Racism’. Right! Alive TV news will give you the inside scoop.

It has been one massive year in the world of football, especially for South Africa and Bafana Bafana, as we look forward to the world cup that is going to ignite our shores in a matter of months. Tickets sales are open in light of the successful draw we just had here in the mother city and you must get onto fifa.com to try and get your piece of the action. If you weren’t sure about getting tickets, surely the site of tens of thousands of people celebrating on Long Street until the early hours of the morning was enough to make you realise this thing is real, and closer than anyone can imagine.

The Confederations cup came and went very successfully, Bafana did alright (who could forget Mphelas free kick against Spain to take it to extra time) and I hope that under the guidance of Carlos Alberto, who replaced a fired Joel Santana, we can be proud of our nation’s performance in the world cup next year.

Green Point stadium is ready, Cape Town is ready. Bring on 2010!

On a personal note, two football events stand out in my mind. Firstly, that epic game between Chelsea and Barcelona in the champions league Semi-final, when an absolute screamer of a goal from Essien was matched by a more significant cracker from Iniesta to put the Blues out and take Barcelona towards their eventual crown. Something else about an ‘asshole ref’ but we’ve put that behind us... kind of.

Secondly, my first trip to a Local footie game, where I went to watch Kaizer Chiefs play Ajax CT at Newlands stadium in the MTN 8 semi final. While the game offered little, the fans were spectacular, eventually ripping seats out of the stands and throwing them on the field, before the ref had to be escorted from the field as police mased the crowd who were trying to literally kill him. A real spectacle and if you have a second I recommend you watch the video to see just how crazy it was!

In the tennis world, the debate wages on between Federer and Nadal as to who is truly the best. For me there is no question as Roger’s French open win tips it for me- and even now puts him above Pete Sampras in my personal tennis hall of Fame (Sampras never managed to win the French Open). Nadal is a super athlete and could probably compete in many sports while Federer is a tennis purist, and for that he is definitely number 1.

The golf world seems to be highlighted by off the course antics this year, as Tiger Woods has a car crash/ attacked by his wife/ affair with the maid/ bla bla scandal. If what I have heard is true, Tiger has now admitted to the infidelities (I can’t back this up) and we wait to see what happens. That Swedish hottie wife of his must be smelling a big settlement. Whatever happens, Tiger is a golfing legend and I hope it does not derail him from becoming the best of all time. The emergence of Rory Mcilroy seems like a bright prospect for the future, despite his horror at the Million dollar at Sun City.

The boks were fantastic this year and South African rugby can be very proud, currently holding the World cup, British Lions victory, Tri Nations champs (including an emphatic win over the aussies at Newlands) and super 14 crown... is there anything left? The proteas have done well to, and despite not winning the champions trophy, they won in Australia and got up to the number 1 spot in the ODI world rankings.

As I type I think how lucky we have been as South Africans this year, in terms of the sport we have seen on our shores. The British and Irish Lions (who we won’t see for another 12 years) , the Confed cup and IPL (which we will never see again) and the champions trophy on top of the usual ,already amazing, sporting calendar. Wow, that is some year, and that little Fifa tournament coming next year makes me think we are in for another goodie.

Another Cape Town Alive highlight has got to be our introduction to the Pride Fighting Academy and the mysterious world of Mixed Martial Arts. Joining up at the academy has been a revelation for me and is the best way I can recommend anyone to get in shape. Part of the experience was to go and see our first fight as we watched Dave Vorster step into the ring in a real cage fight. Exhilarating!

My final mention goes to two great comebacks in the Sporting world. Firstly, Lance Armstrong made it back into the Tour de France, and not only did he finish but he made it in third place. Thats epic and who knows if he can top it again next year. My money’s on Mr. Livestrong.

Secondly, Michael Schumacher steps back into a Ferrari as Massa has a horrific crash and is ruled out for the season. While I do not think schumi is coming back for good, the millions of dollars he earned for his cameo definitely caught the headlines.

What a year it’s been, and this is only a inkling of what went down in the last 12 months. Share any great moments that have been left out in the comments below as we recap a great year of sport 2009.