Imane Khelif, Scottie Scheffler, Simone Biles and more: The most-searched athletes of 2024
Athletes, coaches, fans and even the wives and girlfriends were all in the spotlight after an eventful sporting year in 2024.
In a year that brought us the Paris Olympics, a summer of great matches from the Copa America and Euro tournaments, and a boom in the WNBA’s popularity, athletes have for a variety of reasons captured the curious minds of fans and the great public stimulated. .
Athletes who burst onto the scene in the past year and others who have been there and continue to generate headlines have been subjected to Google searches for stories of incredible feats and staggering controversies.
Here, Mail Sport searches Google’s top 10 most searched athletes of the year.
10. Rodri, football
Spanish footballer Rodri won the Balon d’Or in November after a spectacular year
The Manchester City star was also named Player of the Tournament at the UEFA Euros
Spanish midfielder Rodri had a fantastic series for club and country in 2024.
The Madrid native opened the year with four goals and seven assists as he helped Manchester City reach the top of the Premier League.
After his season in England, Rodri helped the Spaniards win the UEFA Euro tournament, playing in six matches and scoring a goal for La Rojas. His efforts for his country earned Rodri the Player of the Tournament award.
Furthermore, his success for both sides earned him the coveted Ballon d’Or in November.
9. Shashank Singh, cricket
Cricketer Shashank Singh is one of the two Indian athletes in Google’s most searched athletes
Singh had 354 runs at an average of 44.25 and a strike rate of 164.65 in the Indian PL
Indian batsman Shashank Singh made headlines in 2024 after being bought by the Punjab Kings in the IPL 2024 auction.
The trade caused a lot of confusion because two players with the same name were up for grabs and the Kings felt like they picked the wrong player. A clip of the incident went viral on social media not long after and the team clarified that they had indeed gotten the Shashank they wanted.
Despite the team’s disappointing ninth-place finish, Singh had 354 runs at an average of 44.25 and a strike rate of 164.65. He also hit two half-centuries, including 28 fours and 21 sixes.
8. Scottie Scheffler, golfing
Scottie Scheffler won nine of his 21 matches on the golf course last year
Scheffler also went viral when he was arrested in May on his way to the PGA Championship
Scottie Scheffler had a remarkable year on the golf course, posting nine wins in 21 matches.
Scheffler emerged victorious in the Hero World Challenge, Tour Championship, Paris Olympics, Travelers Championship, Memorial Tournament, RBC Heritage, Masters Tournament, The Players Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Although he earned an estimated $58.5 million this year, Scheffler made even more headlines during a baffling series of events that saw him arrested before the PGA Championship.
Incredible video footage shows him being strapped to a police car before being taken to jail and made to pose for a mugshot in an orange prison uniform. Despite the chaos off the course, Scheffler continued the competition and finished in a tie for eighth place – a remarkable response to a bizarre few days.
7. Hardik Pandya, cricket
Hardik Pandya was a key player in India’s victory at the Cricket T20 World Cup this summer
The all-rounder also shocked fans by quitting the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League
Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya made noise during the 2024 Cricket T20 World Cup in the United States and West Indies.
Pandya proved to be a force with both bat and ball as India secured their second title, beating South Africa by seven runs in the final.
The 31-year-old also shocked the cricket world when he moved to Mumbai Indians after two seasons with the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League. He was named captain of the five-time championship team before they finished bottom of the IPL.
6. Nico Williams, football
Spaniard Nico Williams celebrates in Spanish colors during the UEFA Euros tournament in July
Williams helped the Spaniards win over the rest of the continent this summer
The Spanish national football team was oozing with young talent this year and one of the rising stars is 22-year-old winger Nico Williams of Athletic Bilbao.
As La Roja proved their European supremacy at the European Championships this summer, Williams was a key part of the Spaniards’ success, with two goals and an assist in the tournament.
Away from his national colors, Williams has scored seven goals and provided 16 assists for Bilbao in all competitions.
And it looks like 2025 could be an even bigger year for the young star, with Manchester United, Barcelona and Bayern Munich all sniffing out his signature.
5. Jake Paul, boxing
Jake Paul had wins over Ryan Bourland, Mike Perry and Mike Tyson throughout the year
Tyson and Paul starred in the first-ever boxing event to air on Netflix in November
While fighting the 58-year-old version of Mike Tyson doesn’t carry much weight in modern boxing, Jake Paul deserves credit for bringing one of the all-time greats out of retirement to fight a much younger competitor.
Although the fight wasn’t as exciting as advertised, Paul and his team’s efforts to promote it were remarkable. Additionally, Paul’s brash behavior on social media kept his name stuck all year after a hashtag.
Before closing out 2024 by starring in Netflix’s first boxing event, Paul scored knockout victories over Ryan Bourland in March and Mike Perry in July.
4. Simone Biles, gymnastics
Simone Biles led Team USA to victory at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris
Biles added three gold medals and a silver medal to her decorated trophy case in gymnastics
Simone Biles took the 2024 Olympics by storm as she led the United States to the pinnacle of gymnastics supremacy.
After an unexpected exit from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, all eyes were on Biles as she returned to the Olympic podium in the French capital.
The Columbus, Ohio native did not disappoint when she added three gold and silver coins to her incredible collection. Biles ends 2024 with a total of seven golds, two silvers and two bronzes in her Olympic career.
Off the field, she also made headlines in the stands at Chicago Bears games, supporting her NFL husband Jonathan Owens.
3. Lamine Yamal, football
Spanish teenage star Lamine Yamal was the most searched footballer in 2024
Lamal made headlines by helping La Rojas to a victory over France in the European Championship semi-final
Seventeen-year-old Spanish sensation Lamine Yamal became a household name after a spectacular year on the field.
Yamal shone in Spain’s route to winning the UEFA Euro tournament this summer. The young ace set social media abuzz as he became the youngest player to score in tournament history with a screamer against France in the semi-final.
The Barcelona star was named the Young Player of the Tournament before returning to the Catalan club and becoming the youngest player to make 50 appearances for Barca’s first team, while scoring and setting assist records in all competitions.
Not a bad start to his career, that’s for sure.
2. Mike Tyson, boxing
Boxing legend Mike Tyson came out of retirement at 58 to fight 27-year-old Jake Paul
Despite his loss, Tyson lasted all eight rounds against a much younger opponent in Paul
Boxing legend Mike Tyson had fans equal parts excited and nervous when he announced he would fight at the age of 58 against YouTuber boxer Jake Paul, who is 30 years his junior.
Fans followed the build-up as Iron Mike appeared to show flashes of his terrifying young self. After all, he was once the heavyweight champion of the world who ended 44 of his 50 pro career victories via knockout.
The event was the first boxing card to be streamed on Netflix and both sides did their best to promote the gimmick fight. This included Tyson infamously punching Paul on stage during their weigh-in.
While Fight Week turned out to be a bizarre series of events leading to a lackluster back-to-back, the masses were intrigued by the idea of one of boxing’s greats returning to action.
1. Imane Khelif, boxing
Imane Khelif was at the center of controversy during the women’s boxing tournament in Paris
Khelif went on to win Olympic gold in the women’s 66kg after falling victim to cyberbullying
The 2024 Summer Olympics were marred by controversy from the start. But perhaps none was greater than those surrounding the Algerian boxer Imane Khelif.
Khelif took gold in the women’s welterweight competition despite calls to ban her from fighting female opponents, almost a year after she was kicked out of the World Championships for allegedly failing gender suitability tests.
It was later proven that Khelif was born female and suffers from a rare condition called Differences in Sex Development, which can lead to the development of XY chromosomes.
After a verbal attack from the crowd, Khelif ended 2024 with not only a gold medal, but also the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year award.