Sunday Scroll: Get it hot like Papa John

If 2023 marked the rise of the women’s sports movement, 2024 was the year of its revolution. From increased opportunities to bigger and better facilities to expansion teams, our fave trend of the year was the power, drive, and success of women’s sports.

Here are some of the highlights from a banner year:

🏀 Women’s basketball sees unprecedented growth: Fueled by the league’s 2024 rookie class, the WNBA broke records left and right in its 28th season. Attendance and viewership numbers skyrocketed as the league’s popularity ballooned, culminating in a thrilling five-game Finals series where one of the league’s original franchises, the NY Liberty, won its first-ever championship.

• The sport’s traction extends beyond the W though: League superstars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier announced the creation of Unrivaled this year, an offseason 3v3 league set to debut in January — and presale tickets are already sold out as investments pour in.

🏒 The PWHL makes hockey dreams come true: Pro women’s hockey returned to North America in 2024, and it was everything. Record-breaking crowds enjoyed the action all season as Minnesota took home the inaugural title.

• And the league’s sophomore season is already off to a hot start, with new jerseys and team names, video game debuts, and broadcast deals. Simply poetic.

🏉 The women’s rugby boom has arrived: It’s no secret that the aforementioned Maher was a headline mainstay in 2024, whether she was winning medals, gracing our TikToks, or dancing with the stars.

• Now, she’s a driving force behind the women’s rugby boom where everything from Maher merch to 2025 World Cup tickets is selling fast — and there’s a new domestic league to boot.

💅 Women athletes take center stage: Five of the 10 most marketable athletes of the year were women, another trend we can get behind. Be it Simone Biles’ continued dominance or the Caitlin Clark Effect, women are not only receiving deserved recognition, but the money’s finally starting to follow suit. For the people in the back, investing in women’s sports is just good business.

Nineteen days, 329 events, and countless memes (and chocolate muffins) later, the 2024 Paris Summer Games were iconic. Even before Céline brought the world to tears, this Olympics made history as the closest the Games have come to achieving gender parity with almost an equal number of men and women athletes. Progress.

Now onto some of the unforgettable performances:

🤸 American gymnast Simone Biles silenced the doubters by becoming the first woman to win two Olympic all-around golds in over five decades. She added three additional medals to bring her lifetime total to 11, while also being the architect behind one of the most legendary sportsmanship moments of all time.

🥊 Algerian boxer Imane Khelif overcame misogynistic hate and misinformation questioning her gender identity to snag gold in the women’s welterweight category. Khelif returned to a hero's welcome in Algeria and later showed off her strength and beauty on the cover of Vogue Arabia.

⛳ With a silver and bronze medal already in her collection, New Zealand golfer Lydia Ko completed her set by taking gold in women's individual stroke play. The win also provided the final point Ko needed to enter the LPGA Hall of Fame. A real par-tee in Paris.

🏃 Over on the track, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone broke her own world record, becoming the first woman to defend their Olympic gold in the 400-meter hurdles. Sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson won a gold and silver in her Olympic debut while Cole Hocker shocked the world with his dramatic win in the men’s 1500m final.

🇨🇦 Not to be outdone, Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh also made a serious splash, swimming to a golden hat trick, with victories in the 200- and 400-metre individual medleys and 200m butterfly to go along with a silver in the 400-metre freestyle. At only 17 years old, McIntosh tied Penny Oleksiak's Canadian record of four medals at one Summer Olympics. Yeesh.

• And no Paris recap would be complete without mention of the men's 4x100-metre relay, where Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney, and Andre De Grasse qualified for the final with the slowest time before shocking the world with their improbable first-place finish.

There were too many exceptional moments to count after a year jam-packed with memorable sports action, but we did our best to narrow them down.

Here are a handful of important stories from 2024:

🏈 The Kansas City Chiefs won their second straight Super Bowl in February, defeating the San Francisco 49ers 25–22 in overtime and igniting discussions about their burgeoning dynasty in the process. They love the game.

🎓🏀 The South Carolina Gamecocks completed their undefeated season in style, topping Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes in April’s NCAA women’s basketball championship game despite losing all five starters from the previous season.

⚽ The iconic Marta and the Orlando Pride hoisted the franchise’s first-ever NWSL championship trophy thanks to a beauty from game MVP Barbra Banda.

🏎️ McLaren took home their first World Constructors’ Championship in 26 years, dethroning two-time defending champion Red Bull and signaling yet another power shift in Formula 1.

⚾ World Series champ and LA Dodger, the inimitable Shohei Ohtani, made history by becoming the first player with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season, reaching the mark in what’s widely considered to be the greatest MLB single-game performance ever. Casual.

🏃 Kenya’s Ruth Chepng'etich smashed the women’s marathon world record at this year’s Chicago Marathon, eclipsing the previous mark by nearly two minutes. Blink and you’ll miss her.

🚴 Poland’s Kasia Niewiadoma claimed her first Tour de France Femmes title, narrowly defeating defending champion Demi Vollering by just four seconds — the closest margin in Tour history.

⛳ Pro golfers Nelly Korda and Scottie Scheffler dominated the greens this year with Korda taking home a remarkable seven LPGA wins, including a major title, while Scheffler took home an Olympic gold, a major that highlighted his seven PGA Tour wins, and a bonus mugshot.

Now that we’ve shared our favorite sports moments of the year, let’s take a peek at some of yours:

“The U.S. women’s rugby team winning the Olympic bronze medal in the final seconds! I’ve never watched rugby before, but these women made me a fan of the game! “

— Lindsey O.

“Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc winning in Monaco (his home race), Monza (Ferrari’s home race), and Austin (my home race — or at least my first in-person race)!”

— Katlyn B.

“Pete Alonso's home run in the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers to send the NY Mets to the National League Division Series. Also, any moments with the Mets’ playoff pumpkin and Grimace fandom. It was just a fun season all around!”

— Amy B.

“My favorite sports moment this year, without question, is the Paris 2024 Olympics. It was the opportunity of a lifetime — to join fellow Canadian women’s sports and Olympic superfans in experiencing everything the Olympics represents…This fairy-tale experience didn’t just create memories — it changed lives.”

— Jay A.

“Alright, favorite sports moment of the year, hands down, SYDNEY MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE! She owned the Olympics and every meet leading up to and after. She’s the undisputed queen of the track!”

— Melissa L.

“My favourite sports moment from the past year is Team Canada's success at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the first-year success of the PWHL.”

— Matthew W.