The year 2015 has been eventful with quite a number of trophies won and outstanding performances put up by various teams and individual sportsmen and sportswomen.

Out of the lot, some teams and individuals stood out in terms of their achievements on continental and global stages, sometimes against all odds. Fifteen of these top performers are:

Golden Eaglets

Though FIFA listed the team that was coached by former African Footballer of the Year, Emmanuel Amuneke, as one of the favourites at the Chile 2015 U-17 World Cup, not many Nigerians gave them a chance.

They ended up beating their Malian counterparts in the final, producing the Most Valuable Player and top scorer at the tournament and defended the trophy Nigeria won in the United Arab Emirates in 2013.

Barcelona

FC Barcelona are obviously the most successful club in the world in 2015, winning five major trophies – La Liga, Copa Del Rey, UEFA Champions League, European Super Cup and FIFA World Club Cup – to become the club with the most international titles – 20. The trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar led the team’s charge to these victories.

Under-23 team

The Nigerian team, which was coached by Samson Siasia, had a shaky start at the U-23 Africa Cup Nations in Senegal, but they did not only qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics, they also won the title for the first time.

Lionel Messi

Messi, four-time Ballon d’Or winner, remained the most influential player in Barcelona’s outstanding performances in 2015. Apart from scoring some superb individuals, Messi set a couple of records.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Though Real Madrid won no trophy in 2015, Ronaldo was still one of the best players in the world in the year scoring dozens of the goals and setting records such as becoming the first player to score double-digit goals in the UEFA Champions League group stage.

Odion Ighalo

Watford’s Ighalo was undoubtedly Nigeria’s top footballer in 2015. Having scored 20 goals for the Hornets in the Championship, which helped earned them promotion to the top flight, Ighalo has been amazing in the EPL. With 28 league goals so far in 2015, the 26-year-old has scored more league goals in England’s top four tiers in 2015 than any other player. He has 12 goals to his name in the Premier League.

Victor Osimhen

The lanky unassuming striker popped into prominence at the Chile 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, where he erased the top scorer’s record of nine goals that was jointly-held by Frenchman Florent Sinama Pongolle and Ivorian Souleymane Coulibaly. He scored 10 goals and emerged the second Most Valuable Player at the tournament behind his teammate Kelechi Nwakali.

D’Tigers

The national basketball team, which was coached by William Voigt, broke the jinx, winning Nigeria’s first AfroBasket in Tunisia, by beating rivals Angola in the final. The team had some outstanding players such as Chamberlain Oguche, who was the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Golden State Warriors

The NBA defending champions began this season with a winning streak seeking to break the 44-year-old record of 33 consecutive regular season NBA victories that was set by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1971-72 season. The Warriors however fell short, suffering their first defeat of the season 108-95 to Milwaukee Bucks.

All Blacks

New Zealand national rugby team crushed their Australian counterparts, the Wallabies, 34-17 in the Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham to become world champions for a record third time and the first team to retain the Webb Ellis Cup.

Usain Bolt

The Jamaican sprinter stamped his authority as the world’s fastest man when he beat rival Justin Gatlin at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Beijing, China in the year’s most anticipated 100m and 200m races.

Julius Yego
The 26-year-old Kenyan javelin thrower, who came to Beijing as an underdog having just recovered from an injury, shocked many when he threw 92.72m, a Commonwealth record, to win gold in the competition by almost four metres.

Ashton Eaton

Eaton set a world record of 9045, a nine-point improvement on his own three-year-old mark. He is the first decathlete to win the male World Athlete of the Year award after his outstanding performance in Beijing, China.

Genzebe Dibaba

During the year, the Ethiopian athlete set a world indoor 5000m record of 14:18.86 and was unbeaten in her five 1500m races. Dibaba ran an African record of 3:54.11 in Barcelona, which was the fastest time in the world for almost 12 years. She won the female World Athlete of the Year award for 2015.

Tyson Fury

Tyson Fury ended Wladimir Klitschko’s 11-year reign and clinched the WBA, WBO and IBF world heavyweight titles in the process. It was one of the greatest boxing bouts of 2015.

Floyd Mayweather

Mayweather’s fight with Manny Pacquiao was certainly the most publicised bout of the year. Despite predictions that the Filipino boxer would dent Mayweather’s unbeaten record, the American won the $400m bout.

Wellington Jighere

Jighere’s was an uncommon feat, becoming the first African to win the English Language World Scrabble Championships. The Nigerian beat British rival Lewis MacKay in the final in Australia to become the world scrabble champion.

Novak Djokovic

Djokovic had a superb season this year winning 10 titles, which includes three Grand Slams and six Masters 1000 series crowns and remained the world number one. Also this year, Djokovic became the first men’s tennis player to win more than $16 million in prize money during a single season and the first to reach 14 straight finals in a calendar year

SOURCE:http://jeoprince..com/2015/12/2015-top-sports-performer.html

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