Rooftop rallies, frisbee golf and llamas – alternative sport clips of the year

Remarkable feats of the year

You want hard work? We’ll give you hard work. The Dutch headwind cycling championships in February.

Frisbee golf: who knew? A magnificent hole in one by Kevin Jones from September.

In May the Brazilian skateboarder Gui Khury became the first person to land a 1080-degree turn on a vertical ramp. Not bad for an 11-year-old. On the other side of the world, Isamu Yamamoto in Japan is more than worth watching too.

And Katie Ledecky swam a length with a glass of milk on her head in August.


Disc golfer throws 530ft hole in one – video

On top of their game

Perhaps the rugby pass of the year as Teddy Iribaren of Racing 92 puts Teddy Thomas in to score against Munster in January.

Ronnie O’Sullivan clip of the year. There were plenty to choose from, as ever.

Some amazing bowls as Nick Brett finds the gap and puts it on a sixpence; in the IPL, Nicholas Pooran produced some stunning fielding at the IPL and Sarah Fuller made college football history.

And some golfing spectaculars: here’s one-armed amateur golfer Laurent Hurtubise’s hole in one at the PGA American Express in January, Jon Rahm’s astonishing skim across the water before the Masters (they always go in in practice), and then there’s 84-year-old Mary Wakefield sinking a putt across the length of a basketball court.

Best animal interference

A canine goalline clearance spares a keeper’s blushes in Argentina in January. But that was eclipsed by the Carlton v Ilkley llama pitch invasion. A parrot decided to perch on Brazil defender Bruna Benties’ head in a training session in September, too.

Best cheating

A player uses a spare ball to dispossess an opponent in North Macedonia in February as a match between Makedonija Gjorce Petrov and Akademija Pandev descends into farce. And for dive of the year, take a bow (and tumble) AFC Totton’s Stéphane Zubar.

Lockdown antics of the year

Footballers kept themselves busy. We had Trent Alexander-Arnold chipping into a garden ornament, Angel Gomes finding the top bin and Ben Chilwell’s tea break. And with getting hold of toilet rolls becoming a preoccupation, some players inevitably showed off their keepy-uppy skills with them.

Hats off to Elisha Nochomovitz for running a marathon on his balcony, while this rally across the rooftops between 11-year-old Carola Pessina and Vittoria Oliveri, 13, in Italy caught the eye in April. On a similar theme badminton stars Lauren Smith and Marcus Ellis kept themselves, and us, entertained, in June. With nothing else going on outside, how about the thrills and spills of Marbula E?

And for a defining image of our time, here’s the US’s chief medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci throwing the first pitch at MLB’s opening day.


Toilet roll keepie-uppies: sports stars’ coronavirus lockdown challenge – video

Dystopian future clip of the year

Robot fans at a Japanese baseball game in July. Be afraid.

Strop of the year

Go-karter Luca Corberi, and a dangerous one at that, in October.

Mishap of the year

A shattering moment for Branislav Ivanovic as he drops the trophy after Zenit St Petersburg’s Russian Cup final win over FC Khimki – he ended the year at West Brom.

Escapes of the year

A frightening MotoGP moment for Valentino Rossi as Franco Morbidelli’s bike bounces over him at the Austrian GP. Thankfully and remarkably, no one was hurt. And here’s an in-car view of the rallying escape of the year for Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja.

Feelgood stories

An Atlanta school basketball team manager makes the most of his big shot. And here’s the Harlem Globetrotters’ military family reunion surprise.

Our favourites from below the line last week

1) RIP dressage wonderhorse Totilas. Here he is in his prime with the Dutch rider Edward Gal.

2) More Maradona magic, setting up a World Cup final winner.

3) The astonishing final three laps of the 1982 Monaco Grand Prix.

4) Gérard Houllier’s first title, with PSG in 1986.

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source: theguardian.com